Pune Porsche crash: Accused's mother walks out after spending 10 months in jail
The teen's mother is accused of attempting to shield her son by swapping her blood sample with his to conceal alcohol consumption at the time of the accident.
The mother of the 17-year-old, who was involved in the fatal Pune Porsche crash last year, was released from jail on Saturday, four days after the Supreme Court granted her interim bail. She spent more than 10 months in jail.
Shivani Agarwal, is was among 10 people arrested for allegedly tampering with blood samples and the first accused to be granted bail in the case.
She was released from Yerawada Central Prison in Pune around noon and subsequently headed to the police station to complete necessary formalities.
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The others in custody include the teenager's father, Sassoon Hospital doctors Ajay Taware and Shrihari Halnor, hospital staffer Atul Ghatkamble, two middlemen, and three others.
The teen's mother is accused of attempting to shield her son by swapping her blood sample with his to conceal alcohol consumption at the time of the accident. The case triggered national outrage, drawing scrutiny over alleged efforts to tamper with evidence.
How did the Pune Porsche crash accused's mother get bail?
Earlier on Tuesday, SC granted her, who was arrested for allegedly switching the blood samples of her 17-year-old son, who, while driving his father’s Porsche car on May 19 last year in Pune, had hit a motorcycle, killing two IT professionals — Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta.
Subsequently, on Friday, the special court in Pune set the bail conditions for the mother.
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According to her counsels Advocate Angad Gill and Dhvani Shah, the bail conditions set by Pune court include accused furnishing PR bond of ₹1 lakh with one or two sureties; depositing passport with police; not leaving India without prior permission of court; not disclosing her identity for next three months; keeping her mobile tower location on; attending Yerawada police station every Wednesday; and not hamper or tamper investigation.
“We have fulfilled all the conditions set by the Special Court in Pune, and accordingly, the client has been released on bail from prison,” said Dhvani Shah.
During the arguments in the Pune court on Friday, Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray had argued that she should be asked to stay beyond the limits of the Pune district.
The Additional Sessions Judge Kishor N Shinde turned down the submission by the Special Public Prosecutor. Hiray also argued that she should be given directions not to share any of her images and videos on social media or any other platform.
Appearing for Shivani in the Supreme Court earlier this week, senior advocate Vikram Chaudhari told a bench of Justices B RGavai and A G Masih that the woman has already spent more than 10 months in prison and that section 437 of the criminal procedure code specifically provides for grant of bail to a woman accused even in nonbailable offences.
Pune Porsche case
The deadly crash, which occurred in the early hours of May 19, 2024, in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar, claimed the lives of two young IT professionals when a Porsche car, allegedly driven by the teen in an inebriated state, rammed into their two-wheeler.
After arrest, the accused teen was enlarged on bail by the Juvenile Justice Board on the condition that he was to write a 300-word essay on road safety. This led to public outcry, revisiting of the case by police and sending the teenager to an observation home.
(with inputs from Nadeem Inamdar)
