Dwarka road accident: Lawyer says accused minor ‘too stressed’ for Class 10 board exams

The legal counsel of the alleged minor accused in the Dwarka road accident, which led to the death of 23-year-old Sahil Dhaneshra on February 3, has appealed for sympathy for the teenager, citing “academic stress” and “trauma.”

Defence lawyer Lal Singh Thakur said the the accused was struggling to focus on his board exams and is receiving threatening calls following the fatal SUV collision. He argued that the minor’s decision not to flee the scene reflects commendable behaviour despite the gravity of the incident.

Mr. Thakur said: “The incident that happened on February 3 is very unfortunate and painful. I am also a parent. The entire family has been severely stressed and traumatised by this until today. Especially that child, who has to take his board exams today (February 18), he isn’t able to do so properly. And he is a child with a studious background, a gold medalist. But unfortunately, an accident has had a huge impact on his life.”

The case is under investigation and “everything right now is based on speculation,” he added.

“We are not admitting anywhere yet that the boy was the one driving. Regarding the allegations, this is an incident of an accident, and if what you are talking about is true, then look at it this way: appreciate the boy’s conduct. This boy did not flee the scene. This boy is not someone who took the car and ran away. He did not do that. This family was not one that tried to cover up the case or manage it from somewhere; nothing like that. They called you to the police station, presented the child at the police station, they were kept there all night, the parents were kept there all night,” Mr. Thakur said.

The accused driver, a minor, was found to be without a driving licence and was apprehended at the scene. Being a minor, he was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to an Observation Home. On February 10, the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) granted him interim bail on the grounds of his Class 10 board examinations.

“The Board formed an opinion that we should send this boy away for a few days so he can undergo some improvement; we said we would cooperate, even though the boy has board exams, classes all day, and tuition going on. But despite that, as the Board ordered, we immediately complied. On February 3, the Board sent him to what we call ‘juvenile jail’. And on the 10th, we got interim bail so that in the meantime his studies are not ruined,” Mr. Thakur said.

He further added: “No doubt, the boy who left this world, it is regrettable, we cannot express in words the damage and loss the family is sustaining and feeling. But this child is also a young boy of 17 years who is under tremendous pressure, his family is under so much pressure, that besides all the media since yesterday, they are getting personal calls, threat calls. I feel there is so much pressure on the child that some mishap might happen to him. This is very unfortunate.”

He also requested that this be treated as a matter of the child’s future and not a media trial. “The level of this torture has increased so much that we fear the child might do something to himself. His family might do something. So many abuses, so many threats, in such foul language that I cannot show you. If I count now, there must have been around 1,400 calls to his family. These poor people are sitting with their phones switched off. I told them to attend the calls, to talk. Just now I was going to lodge their complaints. My request to you is: this is a question of a child’s future, please do not make it a media trial,” Mr. Thakur said.

23-year-old Sahil Dhaneshra was killed in a road accident in Delhi’s Dwarka on February 3 after a car, allegedly driven by a juvenile without a licence, collided with his motorcycle, police said. The incident took place near Lal Bahadur Shastri College in Dwarka South. According to the preliminary investigation, the car allegedly collided with a motorcycle travelling in the opposite direction and then hit another parked car.

According to Delhi Police, an FIR was registered at Police Station Dwarka South under Sections 281/106(1)/125(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).