Supreme Court grants bail to 3 who played role in ‘blood swapping’ at hospital

While granting them bail, Justice Nagarathna made certain remarks on the responsibility of parents.

She said, “father and mother are to be blamed for not having control over their children. If we say anything on that line we are only afraid that it may prejudice the trial against these appellants… Celebration on the basis of substance and then going in a top speed and resulting in killing of innocent people on the road or innocent people sleeping on the road…the law has to catch up on these people. Most importantly the parents are responsible for handing over the vehicle to the children and giving them sufficient (money) to have a gala time…This is the problem. Because parents have no time to talk to the children, have a dialogue with them and spend time with the children. So what is the substitute? Money, ATM card,” Justice Nagarathna said.

The HC had earlier dismissed the bail pleas of 8 accused in the case including Gaikwad, Makandar, Dr Taware, Dr Halnor and the minor driver’s father.

Dismissing the bail applications, the high court had said, “…the collective object of all the applicants…was, to tamper with the evidence by falsification of the medical record in the government hospital. This they wanted to accomplish with the help of their premeditated conspiracy.”

The HC said that the investigation material, including the chemical analysis (CA) and DNA reports “clearly show that for obtaining the wrong blood samples for the purpose of CA, a completely different method of taking blood samples was adopted, which was only for the bribe amount”.

“This prima facie conclusion is supported by the fact that, even at the stage of taking the fresh blood samples at Aundh hospital, same interference was tried to be made against the Medical Officer there,” the court said.

It added that in the wake of this, if bail was granted to the applicants, even subjecting them to stringent conditions, there was every possibility of their tampering with the prosecution evidence “using their money power and superiority dominance”. “This would ultimately thwart the course of justice in this case which was exposed to danger soon after the accident, because, as highlighted by the learned Special PP, there was unusual delay in the medical examination of the CCL (Child in Conflict with Law) and his two friends. Secondly, the belatedly recorded statement of Adi Shaikh also hints at that danger,” it further said.

“Considering the facts and circumstances of the case thus, the apprehension of the prosecution that the applicant would tamper with the prosecution witnesses/evidence is well founded. Therefore, this is not a fit case to exercise the discretion of bail in favour of the applicants, at least, till the examination of the material prosecution witnesses is over, who are vulnerable to pressurising or any other influencing tactics leading to their turning non-supportive or hostile to the prosecution case. This way, the rights of both the parties would remain intact,” the court had said, rejecting the application.

On May 19, 2024, engineers Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta were killed after a speeding Porsche car, allegedly driven by an inebriated 17-and-a-half-year-old, rammed into their motorcycle.

A police probe had revealed that when the minor driver was taken to the government-run Sassoon Hospital after the accident for a medical examination, his blood sample was allegedly replaced with his mother’s.

The police then arrested seven people – the minor’s mother, his father, Dr Ajay Aniruddha Taware, 48, former head of the Forensic Medicine Department of Sassoon Hospital, Dr Shrihari Bhimrao Halnor, 35, the casualty medical officer at the time, Atul Namdev Ghatkamble, 30, a morgue staff, and “middlemen” Ashpak Basha Makandar, 36, and Amar Santosh Gaikwad, 27.

Police said Makandar and Gaikwad allegedly acted as middlemen between the minor’s parents and the doctors at Sassoon Hospital for swapping blood samples.

Further investigation confirmed that blood samples of the two friends of the minor driver, present with him in the Porsche, were also swapped at Sassoon hospital. Police then arrested fathers of both friends, who too were minors, and a private person linked to them, for their alleged role in blood swapping.

All ten accused were chargesheeted, while a final report against the minor driver was submitted to the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).