New Delhi, April 30 :
New Delhi, April 30:
The 16-year-old boy arrested for creating a pornographic website, was today granted bail by the juvenile justice court after spending five days in remand in an observation home.
A student of Air Force Bal Bharti School, the boy had given graphic descriptions of girls and teachers of his school on the website.
His school principal, M. Titus and class teacher were summoned before the court today. The teacher described the boy as an average child - talkative and a computer wiz. 'The boy has not been known for any kind of misbehaviour with girls,' she said.
'I taught him history in school and he was very worried about his marks. So we had a long discussion as to where he had gone wrong,' she added.
The boy was known to be suffering from a skin disease. His classmates would often tease him by calling him 'patchy-patchy'. The boy had complained about ill-treatment by his schoolmates. However, the school authorities had not taken any action.
The principal said: 'I did not receive any complaint from the parents or from the child.'
The court summoned the principal and the teacher to spell out what action should be taken, keeping the boy's future in mind.
Refusing to put the onus on the school authorities, the principal said: 'The child needs counselling and he needs love. He should stay at home for a few months.'
'The website was created by the child at home. He operated the Internet from his residence and his mother said he would frequent cyber cafes,' she added.
He will spoil the 'moral tone' of the school, therefore, his name will be struck off the school rolls,' the principal said.
When asked about the child's future, she said: 'He should study as a private candidate through a correspondence course.'
His class teacher, who sounded slightly more sympathetic, said: 'All the children in the school are concerned about the boy. They are not angry with him. In fact, they are all inquiring about the child.'
As the Juvenile Justice Board gave its verdict, the boy's parents stood in a corner listening to the lawyers and the jury.
The jury said: 'The child has a history of suffering from depression and we don't want to loose a child. Though he has been released on bail, his parents will need to produce the child before the court whenever required. The parents will also have to pay a fine of Rs 5,000.'
'Children have a tendency to draw graffiti on the wall, in the bathroom, the elevator or on the backboard. However, in the present age, with children becoming computer savvy, they are using the Net.... The present case falls under the category of technografitti.
It should not be taken seriously, because children from the age of 12 to 18 are known to be curious and experimental,' the jury
observed.
'It is the duty of the school and the parents to teach Net etiquette to the children,' they added.
The anguished parents were only too happy to hear about the bail 'We wanted our child to come back home. It has still not been proved that our son has created the website. The school has just taken a unilateral decision,' they said.
Ajay Jain and Ajay Bhalla, the lawyers fighting the boy's case, said: 'The police is not yet sure about who is responsible for the crime.' If the school authorities do not take him back, they will go to the high court, they added.