Ryan murder: SC rejects plea challenging bail to trustees

NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court has refused to cancel anticipatory bail granted to the top three management executives of Ryan International Group in the Pradhyumn murder case.

A bench headed by Justice RK Agrawal said it does not find any good ground to interfere with Punjab and Haryana High Court’s November 21 order that gave the relief to Ryan Pinto, Grace Pinto and Augustine Francis Pinto. Pradhyumn’s father had challenge the anticipatory bail.

However, accepting the contention by Sandeep Kapoor, counsel for the Pinto family, the bench observed the involvement of the three trustees of the school in the crime cannot be established until and unless there was some substantial evidence against them.

A Class 2 student of Ryan International, Gurgaon, Pradhyumn was found with his throat slit inside the school washroom on September 8. Initially, the local police arrested school bus conductor Ashok Kumar in connection with crime.

However, when the CBI took over the probe it nabbed a Class 11 student for the crime. The lower court recently granted bail to Kumar.

In the considered opinion of the court, the CBI is yet to come to a conclusion regarding the Pintos’ involvement and they have made out a case for grant of protection by way of interim bail till the charge sheet is filed, the top court said.

To date, the CBI was yet to examine and analyse the role of the Pinto’s in the case, the bench held.

The FIR registered by the police and later by the CBI does not level any allegations against the Pintos. SC found no fault on their part to move the HC directly for bail. “.. it can be said that there was a trial by media” and “there was no fault with the move of the Pinto’s in directly approaching the high court and not the sessions court, for grant of anticipatory bail as it has concurrent jurisdiction,” the bench said, rejecting the argument that Pintos had indulged in fraud by directly approaching the HC.

Advocate Sushil Tekriwal, appearing for boy’s father, contended that the bail was given despite the CBI opposing it.

WILL, HOWEVER, NOT BE IMMEDIATELY PAID TO THE TWO VICTIMS WHO WERE AWARDED ₹14 LAKH EACH AS COMPENSATION