Punjab & Haryana HC issues notice in Ryan International owners’ anticipatory bail plea

The Punjab & Haryana High Court today issued notice to the Haryana government in the petition filed by the owners of Ryan International School seeking anticipatory bail in the case involving the murder of a seven-year-old boy..Justice Inderjit Singh refused to stay the arrest of owners Ryan Augustine Pinto, Augustine Francis Pinto, and Grace Pinto, and issued notice to the Haryana government, seeking its response. This, after Justice AB Chaudhari recused from hearing the case yesterday..The petitioners were represented by Senior Advocates RS Cheema and Randeep Singh Rai, along with a team from Karanjawala & Co. The matter has now been posted for hearing on Monday, September 25..Just last week, Justice AS Gadkari of the Bombay High Court had rejected a similar plea filed by the owners of the school..The case had even reached the Supreme Court, with Senior Advocate KTS Tulsi seeking to get the trial transferred out of Haryana in light of the Gurgaon Bar Association’s diktat barring lawyers from representing the school owners..Yesterday, the apex court held that the trial would continue in the state, issuing a stern warning to the lawyers not to interfere with proceedings. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi along with a team from Karanjawala & Co appeared for Francis Thomas, regional head of Ryan International School..The District Bar Association of Gurgaon yesterday submitted to the apex court that they have withdrawn their resolution and that Francis Thomas can be represented by any lawyer..The case will, therefore, be heard by a Special Judge under the POCSO Act..Read the orders passed today:.Corrigendum: Based on news reports, this piece had wrongly mentioned that the anticipatory bail petition had been dismissed. The error is regretted.