Application by driver’s mother in Porsche crash: Prosecution opposes plea for blood reports of victims, calls it ‘roving and fishing inquiry

Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray filed his response on the application on Tuesday. Hiray submitted to the court, “It is submitted that at the stage of framing of charge, the accused is not entitled to seek production of unrelied documents from the prosecution. The scope of consideration at this stage is confined only to the material collected by the investigating agency and filed along with the charge-sheet under.”

He further submitted, “The statutory scheme itself makes it abundantly clear that the accused’s right to seek production of defence documents arises at the appropriate stage of trial after framing of charge and not at the pre-charge stage. It is further submitted that permitting the accused to seek all unrelied documents at the pre-charge stage would amount to permitting a roving and fishing inquiry, which is impermissible in law. In the present case, all relied-upon documents forming part of the charge-sheet and complaint have already been supplied to the accused in accordance with law, and therefore no prejudice whatsoever is caused to the accused. Hence, it is most humbly prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to reject the present application filed by the accused.”

At 2.30 am on May 19, 2024, two young IT engineers – Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both 24 and both from Madhya Pradesh – were killed when a speeding luxury car Porsche Taycan, allegedly driven by the inebriated 17-and-a-half-year-old from an influential Pune realtor family, rammed into their motorcycle at Kalyani Nagar junction.

As the investigation had unfolded in the case, the police had arrested minor’s mother, realtor father, Dr Ajay Taware, then head of the forensic medicine of Sassoon hospital, Dr Shrihari Halnor, then casualty medical officer; Atul Ghatkamble, a staffer at the hospital’s morgue; and Ashpak Makandar and Amar Gaikwad, who acted as middlemen between the minor’s father and the doctors. These accused have been charged with tampering evidence, forgery, criminal conspiracy and corruption for swapping of blood samples. Pune police have also arrested and charged a 37-year-old man who had given his blood to be swapped with that of a minor co-passenger and along with the father of that co-passenger. The 52-year-old father of another minor co-passenger, was also arrested earlier for giving his own blood sample to be swapped with his son. Among these 10 accused, except Ghatkamble, all have been granted bail by the Supreme Court at various times.