Pune Porsche case: Supreme Court grants bail to three accused of blood swapping

The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to three accused in the Pune Porsche car accident case, where two people were killed due to rash and negligent driving by a juvenile in May 2024.

The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to three accused in the Pune Porsche car accident case, where two people were killed due to rash and negligent driving by a juvenile in May 2024. The accused are alleged to have helped the juvenile's family tamper with evidence by swapping blood samples. One of the accused persons granted bail is the father of a juvenile passenger seated in the rear seat of the Porsche.

Another accused is a friend of the father of the other back-seat passenger. The third accused is an assistant of the doctor who examined the medical evidence and is alleged to have accepted Rs 3 lakh from the parents to swap the blood sample in order to shield the juvenile driver from prosecution. "Allow let them be produced before the trial court. They may be granted bail. Shall not misuse liberty. Any violation of the condition would result in cancellation of bail," the Court said.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, however, expressed that it is saddening how irresponsible such parents are who provide their juvenile children with high-speed cars and let them indulge in celebrating with substances such as alcohol and drugs. "Celebration is not on the basis of substance (abuse) and driving in speed. Two innocent people are killed. There are innocent people sleeping on the road; this is not the first time this has happened. The main ones responsible are the parents who are giving them sufficient funds for a gala time. Parents have no time to spend with their children. That's why the best thing is to give them an ATM card and a mobile phone. The law has to catch up. See, two innocent lives are lost and all these mechanisations. But it's liberty vs all this." Justice Nagarathna said.

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for one of the accused persons, who is a friend of the father of one of the juvenile back-seat passengers, submitted that only the juvenile driver is being prosecuted before the Juvenile Justice Board. He argued that the allegation against his client is limited to having provided a blood sample for a child who was seated in the back seat of the car. Senior Advocate Sankarnarayanan, appearing for the family of the girl victim, countered that no allegations are being made against the two children who were seated in the back seat. He stressed that it is their fathers who are accused of swapping the blood samples.

Terming it a classic example of misuse of the criminal justice system, he pointed out that the vehicle was being driven at a speed of 180 km per hour. After hearing the submissions of all parties, the Supreme Court observed that denying bail to the accused at this stage would amount to a violation of their personal liberty, particularly when they have already spent 18 months in custody in the evidence-tampering case, while the maximum sentence the juvenile driver could face, upon proof of guilt, is only three years. Thus, it granted bail to all three accused while imposing strict conditions on them. (ANI)

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