A Delhi Court granted interim bail to an 18-year-old accused in an attempted murder case, allowing him to appear for his Class XII exam, stressing protection of his academic year and constitutional right to education.
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court granted interim bail to an 18-year-old student, arrested in an attempted murder case, so he could sit for the final paper of his class XII Board examination. Additional Sessions Judge Shreya Arora Mehta said that losing an academic year at this crucial time would cause irreparable harm to the accused.
The court noted he had already taken five of the six board exams; the remaining Sociology paper is scheduled for April 4.
The judge observed,
“If the applicant is not permitted to appear in this examination, his entire academic year will be lost and he will have to re-appear in all six subjects in the following year. This constitutes irreparable prejudice to the academic career of a young person who is 18 years of age. The loss of an academic year at this critical juncture cannot be undone even if the applicant is ultimately found not guilty,”
Bail was granted for four days, from the evening of March 31 until April 4.
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According to the charge sheet, the 18-year-old allegedly incited a minor to stab the victim, another student. It is claimed he restrained the victim while the juvenile co-accused stabbed him with a knife near the main gate of Andhra Public School on DDU Marg, New Delhi. The court stressed that interim bail to attend an exam does not equate to condoning the alleged crime.
The judgment added,
“It merely ensures that the constitutional right to education of the applicant is not irretrievably sacrificed during the pendency of investigation,”
The court also criticized the school for failing to act after the complainant complained that the accused had burned and thrown crackers on school property two days before the knife attack. It found no disciplinary action, counseling, or parental contact was undertaken following that incident.
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The judge said,
“A timely intervention by a trained counsellor, a conversation with the parents, or even a stern word from a teacher could well have prevented this Court from having to deal with a case under Section 109(1) BNS involving two young persons who ought to be sitting in classrooms rather than in courtrooms and custody,”
The court observed that by the time disputes reach the judiciary, harm has often already been inflicted on the victim’s body and mind, on the accused’s future, and on parents’ trust in the school system.
“No academic result is meaningful if the environment in which it is pursued is one of fear and violence,” the judge emphasized.
Highlighting the vulnerability of adolescents, the court noted that the 14–18 age range involves intense biological and emotional change and requires greater protective attention.
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The judge said,
“In recent times, the exposure of children violence through social media, online content, and the broader environment has increased manifold. What was once distant and abstract is now immediate and immersive. This heightened exposure demands a correspondingly heightened vigilance not merely of the same kind, but of a different and more attentive quality from parents, schools, and communities alike. A trivial quarrel over crackers on 16.03.2026 escalated within 48 hours to an alleged attempt on life with a knife on 18.03.2026,”
Balancing the urgent circumstances of the CBSE Board exam with the connection between the victim and accused, the court allowed interim bail.
Conditions include that the accused must share his location with the investigating officer at all times, avoid contacting the complainant or any witnesses, and be accompanied by his father or guardian to the examination centre entering directly and leaving immediately after the paper. The police were directed to station an officer at the test centre to ensure both classmates can sit the exam safely.
The accused must surrender to the jail superintendent on April 4 at 6 PM.
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