New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice on the bail plea filed by Pune-based businessman Vishal Agarwal, father of the minor who was allegedly driving the Porsche car involved in the May 19, 2024, fatal accident, which claimed the lives of two IT professionals.
A Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan sought a response from the state of Maharashtra and posted the matter for further hearing on March 3.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Agarwal, submitted that the petitioner has remained in custody for about 21 months and pressed for interim bail. However, the Justice Nagarathna-led Bench declined to grant interim relief at this stage.
Agarwal is accused of hatching a conspiracy to swap blood samples in a bid to secure a “Nil Alcohol” report for the minor and other occupants of the luxury car.
The case arises from a high-profile accident in Pune’s Kalyaninagar area, where a Porsche car on May 19, 2024, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy under the influence of alcohol, rammed into a motorcycle, killing software engineers Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, triggering nationwide outrage.
According to the prosecution, the juvenile had consumed alcohol at two different hotels prior to the crash. During the probe, it emerged that his blood sample was allegedly swapped to conceal alcohol consumption.
The investigators claimed that doctors at the government hospital discarded the juvenile’s blood sample and replaced it with that of his mother, allegedly for a bribe of Rs three lakh routed through intermediaries.
In December 2025, the Bombay High Court rejected the bail applications of multiple accused, including Agarwal, observing that there existed a strong prima facie case of criminal conspiracy to falsify medical evidence.
The Bombay High Court noted that after the accident, the accused persons allegedly coordinated with hospital staff to replace blood samples and create false medical records to portray that the minors were not under the influence of alcohol.
It held that such conduct amounted to tampering with evidence and forging valuable security documents, offences carrying severe punishment, including life imprisonment under Section 467 IPC.
While acknowledging the settled principle that “bail is the rule and jail is the exception”, the Bombay High Court declined relief, observing that the accused were financially influential and there was a real possibility of witnesses being pressured or evidence being compromised if they were released.
It added that attempts to manipulate evidence struck at the very foundation of criminal justice and could deprive victims of justice.
Earlier this month, the same apex court had granted bail to three co-accused — Ashish Satish Mittal, Aditya Avinash Sood and Amar Santhosh Gaikwad — who were alleged to have facilitated the swapping of blood samples of two minor occupants of the Porsche car. Taking note of their incarceration of nearly 20 months, the Justice Nagarathna-led Bench ordered their release subject to conditions imposed by the trial court.
(IANS)
