Ahmedabad: A city sessions court has ruled that a juvenile accused in the high-profile murder of builder Himmat Rudani will stand trial as an adult. The case will be conducted before the children court. The decision follows a successful appeal by the victim’s son, Dhaval, who challenged a previous Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) order that had recommended a standard inquiry rather than an adult trial.Rudani’s body was discovered in the trunk of his car in Sep 2025, an act allegedly orchestrated by his former business partner. Three persons, including the juvenile, were arrested within days of the murder. The Juvenile Justice Board on Oct 10, 2025 decided to conduct an inquiry and hold proceedings against the minor after a preliminary psychological assessment of the minor.Rudani’s son challenged the board’s decision and demanded that the child in conflict with law should be treated as an adult and that an appropriate psychological assessment of the juvenile delinquent should be ordered in this case.In Jan, the city sessions court ordered a psychological re-evaluation of the minor to ascertain whether he should be put on trial as an adult. As the juvenile delinquent was placed in the Mehsana remand home, he was assessed psychologically once again by two clinical psychologists.After getting their opinion, additional sessions judge M P Purohit stated, “The preliminary assessment by the psychologist reveals that the child in conflict with law is able to understand the gravity and effect of the offence he is allegedly involved in.”The judge allowed the son’s appeal and quashed the Juvenile Justice Board’s Oct 2025 order to hold an inquiry against the minor accused. The court said, “The case against the child in conflict with law is to be conducted before the children court by treating him as an adult under provisions of Sections 15, 18, 19, 101(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and Rule 13 & 15 of Model Rules.”
