Porsche crash case: 2 members of JJB removed after accused minor gets bail

The Maharashtra government has terminated the services of two members of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) here in connection with bail given to a juvenile accused in the Pune Porsche crash case, officials said on Thursday.

A probe panel of the state Women and Child Development (WCD) Department had recommended action against the two members - L N Danwade and Kavita Thorat - for alleged "procedural lapses, misconduct and non-compliance with norms".

WCD Department Commissioner Prashant Narnavare told PTI, "I had given the probe panel report to the state government and recommended that the appointment of the two members should be terminated."

"The report, recommending the termination, was sent to the state government in July. The state government on Tuesday terminated the appointment of both the members as they were found guilty of misusing their powers, which have been provided under the Juvenile Justice Act," he said.

A notification, dated October 8, issued by the state government stated that in the inquiry, Danwade and Thorat have been found guilty of "misusing their powers" vested under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act-2015, and government considers it expedient to terminate the appointment of both the members.

On May 19, two IT professionals were killed in Kalyani Nagar area of Pune after their motorcycle was hit by a speeding Porsche car allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy in an inebriated condition.

The case caused a national uproar after then JJB member Danwade granted bail to the accused, son of a builder, on very lenient terms, including writing a 300-word essay on road safety.

Later, a committee was formed by the WCD Department for a probe into the conduct of two JJB members in connection with the bail given to the minor accused.

In its report, the panel talked about the "procedural lapses, misconduct and non-compliance with norms" of the JJB members.

As part of its probe, the committee had recorded the statements of the two JJB members.

In its report, the committee recommended action against the two JJB members for procedural lapses.

Based on the report findings, they (JJB members) were issued a show-cause notice which sought their replies.

"But as their replies were not satisfactory, we wrote to the state government and proposed a disciplinary action against both the members," Narnavare earlier said.