SC upholds bail to Ryan school bosses

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging the interim bail granted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on November 21 to Ryan Pinto and his parents Augustine Francis Pinto and Mrs Grace Pinto running the Ryan International School in Gurgaon.

The petition was filed by Barun Chandra Thakur, whose 7-year old son Pradyumn was brutally knifed to death in the school premises on September 8.

The Bench of Justices R K Agrawal and Abhay Manohar Sapre, which had earlier reserved the ruling, upheld the High Court’s order on the ground that it cannot be faulted with till the presentation of challan by the CBI which is investigating the case.

Without expressing anything on merits of the case since the investigation is still under progress and the CBI is yet to come to a conclusion on Pintos’ involvement in the murder, they had rightly made out a case for grant of protection by way of interim bail till presentation of the challan. Ryan Pinto is the CEO of the Ryan International Group while his father Augustine is its founding chairman and mother Grace its managing director.

The Pintos, who are the residents of Mumbai, had filed an anticipatory bail for transit before the Bombay High Court which granted interim stay from arrest on September 12 and extended it till 5 pm on September 15, when they filed the interim bail petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh.