SC bail to 3 in Pune Porsche crash draws sharp criticism from victims’ kin

The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to three accused in the 2024 Pune Porsche crash case, drawing sharp criticism from the family of one of the two engineers killed, who said the decision sends a “wrong message” to society.

The tragic incident occurred on 19 May 2024, when a Porsche, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old under the influence of alcohol, struck and killed IT professionals Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar. In the aftermath, several individuals were accused of tampering with blood samples to shield the juvenile driver.

The three granted bail — Amar Santish Gaikwad, alleged middleman; Aditya Avinash Sood; and Ashish Satish Mittal — were accused of conspiring to replace the blood samples of the juveniles involved. Mittal is a friend of the main accused’s father, Sood is the father of a rear-seat passenger, and Gaikwad allegedly accepted Rs 3 lakh to manipulate the reports.

The Supreme Court noted the trio had spent 18 months in jail and observed that parents bear responsibility in incidents involving minors, as they cannot exercise control over their children.

Reacting to the decision, Anish Awadhiya’s grandfather, Atmaram Awadhiya, said the bail undermined justice and alleged that the wealthy background of the main accused had enabled fraudulent measures from the start to protect him. Omprakash Awadhiya, Anish’s father, added, “The three accused tampered with blood samples to shield the main culprit. We want the bail cancelled for the sake of justice.”

Earlier, the Bombay High Court had rejected bail pleas for eight accused, including Gaikwad, Sood, and Mittal. The Juvenile Justice Board had initially granted bail to the minor accused under lenient conditions — including writing a 300-word essay on road safety — but later modified the order to send him to an observation home, before the high court eventually released him in June 2024.

In total, 10 accused, including the minor’s parents Vishal and Shivani Agarwal, doctors, hospital staff, and middlemen, remain implicated in the blood sample tampering case.

The Supreme Court’s bail order has reignited public debate over accountability, justice for victims, and the role of privilege in high-profile criminal cases.

With PTI inputs