SC grants bail to accused in 2024 Pune Porsche accident case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to an accused in the 2024 Pune Porsche accident case on grounds of parity.

The case relates to a May 19, 2024, incident in which a Porsche car allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy under the influence of alcohol, fatally knocked down two IT professionals in Pune's Kalyani Nagar area.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan noted that Ashpak Basha Makandar had been in jail since 20 months while three other accused have already been granted bail.

It was alleged that Makandar facilitated the criminal conspiracy to tamper with medical evidence by swapping of blood samples of the minor occupants with those of their guardians at the hospital.

"Senior counsel appearing for the appellant submitted that the appellant is similarly placed to the co-accused who has already been granted bail in this matter. Bail granted in terms of the order passed," the bench said.

The top court on February 2 had granted bail to three accused in the case while observing that parents are to be blamed for such incidents involving juveniles as they don't have control over their children.

Noting that the accused -- Amar Santish Gaikwad (alleged middleman), Aditya Avinash Sood and Ashish Satish Mittal (parents of two other juveniles in the car) -- had been in custody for 18 months, the bench had granted bail to them.

On January 23, the top court sought a response from the Maharashtra government on a plea filed by Gaikwad seeking bail in the case.

Earlier on January 7, the top court sought a response from the Maharashtra government on pleas filed by two other accused seeking bail in the case.

Sood (52) and Mittal (37) were arrested on August 19 last year, as their blood samples were used for tests in connection with two minors who were in the car along with the 17-year-old main accused at the time of the accident.

The Bombay High Court on December 16 last year rejected the bail pleas of eight accused, including Gaikwad, Sood and Mittal, in the case.

The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) had granted bail to the minor accused on lenient terms, sparking nationwide outrage. The bail conditions included writing a 300-word essay on road safety.

As bail to the accused juvenile triggered outrage, the Pune police approached the JJB to review its decision. The board then modified the order and sent the juvenile to an observation home.

In June, the high court ordered the release of the juvenile.

While the juvenile involved in the case was released from an observation home, 10 accused, including his parents Vishal Agarwal and Shivani Agarwal, doctors Ajay Tawre and Shreehari Halnor, Sassoon Hospital's staffer Atul Ghatkamble, Sood, Mittal and Arun Kumar Singh, were sent to jail in the blood sample swapping case.