Porsche crash: Prosecution opposes bail pleas of 6 accused

The prosecution on Thursday, 8 August opposed the bail pleas of six accused in the 19 May Pune Porsche car crash case and asserted they played with the judiciary by tampering with evidence.

Advocate Shishir Hiray, who has been appointed as special public prosecutor in the case, opposed the bail applications of Vishal Agarwal, Shivani Agarwal, parents of the juvenile involved in the Kalyani Nagar car accident, Sassoon Hospital's then head of forensic sciences department Ajay Taware, its then chief medical officer Shreehari Halnor as well as middlemen Ashpak Makandar and Amar Gaikwad.

The bail applications of the six are currently being heard before additional sessions judge U M Mudholkar.

In the early hours of 19 May, two IT professionals were killed after their motorcycle was hit by a Porsche car allegedly driven by an inebriated minor.

The car's speed was recorded at 110 km per hour after the airbags in the car opened once it hit the two-wheeler, indicating the vehicle was likely being driven at an even higher speed before the impact, Hiray told court.

Citing a Supreme Court judgement that cancelled the bail given to former Uttar Pradesh minister Amarmani Tripathi in a murder case, Hiray said the accused would tamper with evidence the way they tried by replacing blood samples to nullify alcohol tests.

"After the offence was registered against the minor, the accused allegedly took the entire system in their hand and tampered with key evidence crucial in the judicial proceedings. Playing or tampering with the evidence is nothing but playing with the judicial system. This exactly happened in the Amarmani Tripathi vs CBI case," argued Hiray.

Asserting all the accused acted in connivance with the common objective of sabotaging the evidence, Hiray said, "Tampering with the evidence hampers the right of the victims to seek justice. The rights of victim is a valuable thing. It is not just victims that are seeking justice but society as a whole is seeking justice."

He also refuted the defence's argument that IPC section 304 ( culpable homicide not amounting to murder ) needs to be segregated.

"It cannot be segregated at this stage in the case. Section 304 is just an iceberg. What is lying beneath is much more important," he said.

Objecting to the defence's argument of a media trial leading to the arrests, he said investigation is being done with utmost professionalism.

If given bail, the accused will try to tamper with the evidence, pressure the witnesses, Hiray told court.

SPP Hiray, who was assisted by his colleague advoate Sarthi Panare, will continue his argument on Friday, 9 August.

The Pune police recently filed a chargesheet of 900 pages in the case against seven accused, comprising the six who moved the bail pleas and Sassoon Hospital staffer Atul Ghatkamble.

The case against the main accused, a minor, is currently going on before the juvenile Justice Board.