Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court on Monday granted regular bail to a 17-year-old juvenile delinquent accused of killing his father to end the domestic abuse of his mother.According to the prosecution, the teenager and his two relatives conspired to kill his father, who had a history of domestic abuse.Police alleged that the deceased came to Surat in July 2025 to record a statement regarding an earlier complaint and was later taken to an isolated spot by the accused, where he was attacked with a wooden log and a knife. Olpad police filed an FIR, and the teenager was booked for his father’s murder.The child in conflict with law (CCL) was denied bail by a sessions court in Surat, following which he approached the HC through his mother. Their advocate, Rafik Lokhandwala, argued that the incident arose from circumstances linked to protecting the mother and pointed to the absence of eyewitnesses.The court noted that the record did not clearly show how the quarrel unfolded or how the deceased reacted at the time. The lawyer submitted that the bail application should be considered under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act and not under the Criminal Procedure Code.Justice Gita Gopi relied on the probation officer’s report and noted, “The report of the probation officer shows that the father was a drunkard and was also mentally ill and while there are no criminal antecedents of the CCL and he was found to be staying with other children in the observation home peacefully.”The HC granted bail to the child on a Rs 10,000 bond and directed the probation officer to “monitor” the conduct of the CCL and “quarterly submit the report before the concerned board/children’s court till completion of the trial. Moreover, if the probation officer considers any necessity of sending the CCL for any behaviour modification, then necessary therapy and psychiatric support be provided to the CCL.”
