The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Vishal Agarwal, the father of the minor accused in the 2024 Pune Porsche crash that killed two IT professionals. The Court noted that Agarwal had spent nearly 22 months in custody and observed that other co-accused in the case had already been granted relief.
A Bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan allowed the bail plea filed by Agarwal, who has been accused of conspiring to swap the blood samples of his 17-year-old son after the fatal accident in Pune. Investigators allege that the plan was intended to secure a “Nil Alcohol” report for the occupants of the car.
The incident occurred on May 19, 2024, in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar area. According to the prosecution, the luxury Porsche car allegedly driven by the minor under the influence of alcohol crashed into a motorcycle, killing two IT professionals.
While granting bail, the Supreme Court took note of the duration of Agarwal’s custody and the relief already granted to other accused persons in the case. The Bench observed:
“We note that the appellant herein has been in jail for the last 22 months. The appellant has made out a case for bail. Bail granted subject to terms and conditions to be imposed by the trial court.”
The Maharashtra government opposed the plea, arguing that the principle of parity with co-accused should not apply to Agarwal. However, the Court proceeded to grant bail while imposing strict conditions.
The Bench directed that Agarwal must not attempt to influence witnesses and warned that any violation could lead to cancellation of bail. It ordered:
“The petitioner shall not make any attempt to contact the witnesses either directly or indirectly. Any violation of the conditions shall entitle the state to seek cancellation of the bail. We also direct the concerned trial court to conclude the trial at the earliest.”
The case has seen several bail orders in recent months. On February 27, the Supreme Court granted bail to Dr Ajay Taware, former medical superintendent of Sassoon General Hospital, who was arrested for allegedly tampering with the minor’s blood samples. The Court granted him relief on grounds of parity.
Earlier, on February 2, the top court also granted bail to three other accused — Amar Santish Gaikwad, alleged to be a middleman, and Aditya Avinash Sood and Ashish Satish Mittal, the parents of two other juveniles present in the car during the incident. The Court had noted that they had spent about 18 months in custody.
Sood and Mittal were arrested on August 19 last year after investigators alleged that their blood samples were used during testing related to the two minors who were travelling with the main accused.
The bail developments followed an earlier order of the Bombay High Court on December 16 last year rejecting the bail pleas of several accused, including Gaikwad, Sood and Mittal.
The case had triggered nationwide outrage soon after the accident. The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) initially granted bail to the 17-year-old accused on conditions that included writing a 300-word essay on road safety. Following public criticism, Pune Police approached the JJB seeking a review of the order.
The board later modified its decision and sent the juvenile to an observation home. Subsequently, the Bombay High Court ordered his release.
Alongside the juvenile, multiple individuals were arrested in the alleged blood sample manipulation case. Those sent to jail included his parents Vishal Agarwal and Shivani Agarwal, doctors Ajay Taware and Shreehari Halnor, Sassoon Hospital staff member Atul Ghatkamble, as well as Sood, Mittal and Arun Kumar Singh.
