Supreme Court dismisses Pradyuman Thakur's father's plea seeking cancellation of Ryan school trustees' anticipatory bail

A plea seeking cancellation of the Ryan International School trustees’ anticipatory bail filed by the father of seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur, who was found dead in the washroom of  the school in Gurugram, was dismissed by the Supreme Court on Monday.

Plea filed by Pradyuman's father Varun Thakur seeking cancellation of interim bail granted to Pinto family dismissed by Supreme Court. #PradyumanMurderCase pic.twitter.com/vbAiV5S66T

— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2017

The apex court upheld the pre-arrest bail for the school’s CEO Ryan Pinto, and trustees Augustine and Grace Pinto. The Pintos — Augustine F Pinto, his wife Grace and their son Ryan — were granted anticipatory bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 21 November. On 6 December, the court had reserved its verdict on the plea of Pradyuman’s father Barun Chandra Thakur. In his appeal, Thakur has claimed that the CBI probe into the case was underway and granting anticipatory bail at this stage would frustrate the criminal justice delivery system. [caption id=“attachment_4217589” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Supreme Court of India. AP[/caption] “The manner in which the conspiracy has been hatched to kill him and the manner in which the entire scene of crime has been destroyed, decorated and ornamented, it clearly appears that the directions may have come from some high-ups to the school authorities and the possibility of the involvement of Pinto family at this stage cannot be ruled out in any manner whatsoever and howsoever,” said the plea, filed through advocate Sushil Tekriwal. It also referred to an affidavit filed before the apex court by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and alleged that the board had categorically said the school had failed to discharge its responsibility to file an FIR and inform the district education officer. “Holding the school squarely responsible for the tragedy the CBSE has also said that the entire sequence of events, it clearly appears that the school was guilty in failing to ensure the safety and security of students,” the plea claimed. The Punjab and Haryana High Court, while granting the anticipatory bail, had asked the Pintos to join investigations in the case. The court had barred them from leaving the country without permission. Pradyuman was found with his throat slit in the school washroom in Gurugram on 8 September. School bus conductor Ashok Kumar was arrested by Haryana Police in connection with the crime. He was recently granted bail by a lower court. The case was then transferred to the CBI and the agency had apprehended a class 11 student in connection with the killing. With inputs from PTI