Haryana HC to hear Pintos bail plea today

NEWDELHI: The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) will on Tuesday hear anticipatory bail petitions filed by the trustees of Ryan International Schools in the case pertaining to the murder of an eight-year-old boy inside the premises of the institution’s Bhondsi branch.

On September 14, the Bombay HC had declined to give the three — Augustine F Pinto, his wife Grace and their son Ryan — relief but had granted them a day’s conditional interim stay to enable them move the concerned HC.

Advocate Sandeep Kapoor told Hindustan Times that the petitions are listed for hearing before Justice AB Chaudhary’s court and senior counsel RS Cheema will argue for the trustees.

In their petitions the trustees said the “unprecedented media blitz”, resulting in “unwarranted sensationalism” of the case, required the HC to examine the facts of the case objectively. Under public pressure, the police may fail to fully appreciate and analyse the legal position, Augustine and Grace submitted in their plea. Notwithstanding the diabolical nature of crime ends of justice call for an objective evaluation of circumstances, they said.

Augustine argued he was a trustee of the St Xavier’s Education Trust and also a member of the Gurgaon branch’s managing committee. However, he played no role in the daily affairs of the school. Grace was not even a member of the school’s managing committee and therefore it was unimaginable to stretch the offences to include their name.

Augustine and Grace’s son Ryan has pleaded that he has been “denounced” as an accused for the reason the school shares his name. He denied having connection with the actual management of the school. He is neither a trustee of the trust nor was a member of the managing committee.