New Delhi: The Supreme Court has granted bail to 3 accused in the Pune Porsche hit-and-run case. The incident dates back to 2024, when a juvenile driver,
allegedly under influence of alcohol, lost control of his Porsche car and hit 2 IT professionals, killing both of them.
SC grants bail to 3, makes sharp observations on parental responsibility
The Supreme Court bench of BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan granted bail to 3 accused, Aditya Avinash Sood (52), Ashish Satish Mittal (37), and Amar Santosh Gaikwad. The bench said that all 3 of them were in jail for the past 18 months. It also observed that they have been in jail, ever since the allegations were made against them. The court said that their continued incarceration would greatly prejudice them.”
Gaikwad was reportedly the middleman who received money, approximately a sum of Rs 3 lakh for replacing the blood samples of the juveniles involved in the accident. Sood is the father of one of the minors seated in the backseat of the car, while Mittal is the friend of the father of the main accused in the case.
The court directed that all the 3 accused be presented before the concerned trial court and released on bail subject to the conditions imposed by the trial court. The apex court however warned that any violation of the bail condition would lead to cancellation of the bail.
The court also made certain observations regarding parents roles and responsibilities in a child’s life. The bench said, “Substance abuse is another thing, but giving them (children) car keys and funds to have a gala time is unacceptable.”
Defence arguments and court’s response
The defence however opposed the bail plea of the accused. The lawyer said that this case represented a “classic case of undermining the entire criminal justice system.” The lawyer, Gopal Sankaranarayanan said that this case was not just about the initial act, but also about what happened thereafter.
Sankaranarayanan said that “phone calls were made amongst all the accused and immediately the local MLA turned up to help save the accused.” He also said that all the accused had “conspired” to save the accused driver and if granted bail they “might tamper with evidence.”
The court’s response to this argument, once again centered around parental control on children. Justice Nagarathna said, “Allowing children firstly,
consumption of alcohol as minors, and secondly, giving them a car and celebrating like this… the father and mother are to be blamed for not having control over their children.”
The court however refused to make any further observations. It said that those being granted bail had for long been under incarceration and this case was now about their liberty versus all other things (including their conduct as parents).
The court therefore agreed to their prayer for bail.
The main accused in the case, who was initially asked to write a 300-word essay and only sent to an observation home after nationwide outrage, was also released later. The court granted him bail.
Those still in prison in this case are the parents of the main accused Vishal Agarwal and Shivani Agarwal, doctors Ajay Tawre and Shreehari Halnor, Sassoon Hospital staffer Atul Ghatkamble, Sood, Mittal, Arun Kumar Singh and two alleged middlemen.
