The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to three persons accused of assisting in tampering with blood samples following the deadly Pune Porsche crash that killed two young software engineers in May 2024.
The Court granted bail to Aditya Sood, Ashish Mittal and Santosh Gaikwad, noting that they have already spent nearly 18 months in custody, LiveLaw reported.
While Mittal is a friend of the father of the main accused, Sood is the father of the boy who was in the backseat of the car. Gaikwad is a middleman who had received a sum of Rs 3 lakh for tampering with the blood work.
The case stems from a fatal accident on May 19, 2024, when a speeding Porsche without a registration number plate rammed into a two-wheeler in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar, killing Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Costa as they were returning home from a hotel.
A 17-year-old boy was allegedly driving the car under the influence of alcohol. Two of his minor friends and a driver were also inside the vehicle. Investigators said the juvenile had consumed alcohol at two different hotels before taking the wheel.
The incident sparked nationwide outrage, not only due to the loss of life but also because of the handling of the case in its immediate aftermath. Although the minor was detained, he was granted bail within hours by a Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) member, with conditions that included writing a 300-word essay on road safety. The order triggered widespread criticism.
Following a review sought by police, the JJB later sent the minor to an observation home. He was subsequently released on the directions of the Bombay High Court.
As the investigation progressed, it emerged that the juvenile’s blood sample had allegedly been swapped to conceal alcohol consumption. According to investigators, the doctors at Sassoon Hospital discarded the juvenile’s blood sample and replaced it with that of his mother.
The alleged conspiracy reportedly involved the juvenile’s father, Pune-based businessman Vishal Agarwal, his wife, and other associates.
Prosecutors claim Rs 3 lakh was paid to staff at Sassoon Hospital through intermediaries, with senior medical officers orchestrating the manipulation to ensure test reports showed no traces of alcohol.
The alleged conspiracy later widened with the arrest of Ashish Mittal and Aditya Sood.
Mittal, a Pune businessman, is accused of providing his own blood sample to replace that of another juvenile present in the car. Sood allegedly did the same for his teenage son, who was an occupant of the vehicle but was neither driving nor named in the original FIR.
The Bombay High Court had denied bail to the accused in December last year, citing concerns that financially influential accused could tamper with witnesses and obstruct justice.
Despite these observations, the Supreme Court granted bail on Monday, primarily considering the length of incarceration already undergone by the three accused.