‘Supernova case: Juvenile board raps police over minors’ arrest

On Friday night, police raided the flat after local residents reported to police that alcohol and drugs were being consumed by students at a party

Noida: A juvenile justice board (JJB) on Sunday granted bail to six minors and removed multiple serious sections pressed against them by Noida police in connection with a high-profile Supernova party case that was reported at Sector 126 police station by residents late Friday night, an officer said on Monday.

On Monday, the board dismissed the sections levelled against the minors, terming them “without any substantial proof”. (Representative image)

On Friday night, the Noida police raided flat number 3401 of Supernova society in Sector 94, Noida after local residents reported to police that alcohol and drugs were being consumed by students at a party.

Police said they arrested 34 students and detained six minors but did not share the details under which the case was registered.

After Praveen Singh, the investigating officer of the case and assistant commissioner of police, produced the minors before JJB, Gautam Budh Nagar, the board found that police added Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) Act Section 21/22, Immoral Traffic Prevention Act Section 3, 5, Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (COTPA) Act Sections 7, 8, and 22, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act Section 21 (1), Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act Section 77, and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 292 (community service).

On Monday, the board dismissed the sections levelled against the minors, terming them “without any substantial proof”.

“It appears that these sections were purposefully imposed on these juveniles, and no due diligence was done before imposing such serious charges on the children in conflict with the law,” said Aakriti, principal magistrate, JJB, in the order.

On Friday, some residents had complained to police that a Vodka bottle was thrown from the balcony to the 4th floor kids pool 2 play area, and that there were over 50 students, partying with loud music, alcohol, and drugs, and they were in an inebriated condition.

On Monday, the board dismissed all the serious sections, citing that the investigating officer brought nothing on record and was unable to establish even prima facie.

“The learned investigating officer has brought nothing on record which can even prima facie prove that these children in conflict with the law were in any way involved in giving intoxicating liquor, narcotic drugs, or psychotropic substances to any other children. These children were there to just attend the party and nothing has been brought on record yet to prove if they were intoxicated or not or the level of intoxication or which substance was used for intoxication by these juveniles,” the order stated.

Arun Kumar Gupta, member magistrate of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) said, “Police had recovered only 17 bottles of liquor, of which only two were opened. They also seized a chillam (hukkah). They failed to prove that chillam contain drugs.”

“Police claim to have just smelled the same and inflicted charges based upon suspicion without any substantial proof of what substance was recovered or whether it is contraband or not under the NDPS Act. Thereby, there is no ground to hold charges against the accused under the NDPS Act at this juncture,” the order stated.

“Except for bailable BNS Section 292 and UP Excise Act Sections 60 and 63 all the other sections were removed as the police failed to prove any evidence. The minors were released after being furnished a personal bond and a guarantee by family members that they would not indulge in any such activity in the future,” said Akriti, principal magistrate of JJB, Gautam Budh Nagar.

“We have included all the sections as per investigations, and the court removed them after observation,” said Ram Badan Singh, deputy commissioner of police, Noida, adding that apart from minors, four majors were sent to judicial custody while 30 were released on bail.