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NDTV
16-07-2025
- NDTV
Pune Porsche Case: Drunk Teen Escapes Adult Trial. What Happened In Court?
New Delhi: The main accused in the Pune Porsche crash case - 17 years old and drunk when he rammed his father's Rs 2.5 crore electric supercar into a motorcyle, and killed two people, last year - escaped trial as an adult because the charges he faces do not attract minimum jail terms of seven years or more. That, the Juvenile Justice Board ruled Tuesday, is the threshold beyond which a minor - a 'Child in Conflict with the Law' - can be accused of committing a "heinous offence" and be tried as an adult. The boy - the son of a prominent Pune realtor who was also arrested, as was the boy's mother, for tampering with evidence - was booked under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code. These include Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), and also faces charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections of the Motor Vehicles Act. However, the Board concluded that none of these charges, individually or collectively, fulfill the critera to declare his crimes a "heinous" offence under the Juvenile Justice Act, and said "... the preliminary assessment under Section 15 - for declaring the child to be tried as an adult - is not maintainable". What The Prosecution Said Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray pointed to the gruesome nature of the incident - the boy drove the supercar at nearly 180 km per hour into the two-wheeler - and argued he (and his family) knew the consequences since they influenced the police and tampered with evidence. The Porsche electric supercar driven by the teen belonged to his father. These acts, he said, displayed "maturity" and "criminal intent", and attempts to manipulate the legal system. A "strong message" should be sent to others contemplating similar actions, he argued.. What The Defence Said Appearing for the minor, Prashant Patil pointed to the Supreme Court's ruling in a 2020 case that specified the seven-year jail term threshold to identify "heinous" crimes. Since none of the charges invoked in this case prescribe that level of punishment, the offences fall under the "serious" category, under which a minor accused cannot be seen as an adult. Mr Patil also pointed out the focus of the Juvenile Justice Act is reformative and not punitive, and that psychological assessments showed no signs of criminal tendencies in the boy. He said pushing the accused into the the adult criminal justice system would risk permanently damaging any prospects for his rehabilitation. What The Juvenile Board Said The Board - which came under heavy fire last year after giving the boy bail within 15 hours of the accident, on conditions as flimsy as ' write a 300-word essay on road accidents ' - acknowledged Mr Patil's argument and the precedent set by the Supreme Court in refusing the prosecution. What Next In Pune Porsche Case The accused will continue, for now, to be treated as a minor. CCTV footage from a Pune bar showed the minor accused drinking alcohol. However, sources told NDTV the prosecution will pursue this point and is likely to challenge the Board's order in a higher court, possibly the Bombay High Court. What Crash Victims' Family Said Meanwhile, Suresh Koshta, the father of Ashwini Koshta, one of the two people killed told NDTV the decision was another example of how money and power subvert the delivery of justice. "(From the) beginning the whole country pointed fingers at the functioning of the Juvenile Justice Board. A person who was drinking... driving a car... how can he be considered a 'juvenile'?" READ | "Rich People": Pune Porsche Victim's Father On Accused's 'Juvenile' Tag "I think there should have been no question about treating him as an adult," he said. Om Prakash Awadhiya, the father of Aneesh Awadhiya, the other person who was killed, said "it (the Board's questionable decision) was clear from the beginning what we would get". "This entire year has been painful for me, my wife, and our whole family. Not a single day goes by without us remembering him and cherishing his beautiful memories. After Anish's tragic death, our world has come crashing down," Mr Awadhiya, who lives in Madhya Pradesh, said. Pune Porsche Car Crash Case The main accused - the 17-year-old boy - out 'celebrating' exam results by heavy underage drinking at a city bar. He reportedly ran up a bill of Rs 48,000 in just 90 minutes. The bar has since been shut down and its owners and staff also arrested. At the time of the incident the boy was four months short of the legal age for driving and eight years shy of Maharashtra's legal drinking age, which is 25. The police's handling of the case has also been questioned; the first cops on the scene have been accused of deliberately mishandling critical evidence to ensure the boy's release. READ | Big Twist In Pune Porsche Crash: Cops To Probe Cops In Burger Row This included feeding him burgers after the crash to hide or dilute the alcohol in his bloodstream. They reportedly also did not alert their superiors, as required by law. There were also questions asked of the medical professionals involved, including doctors tasked with extracting and securing samples from the accused to test for blood alcohol levels. It transpired the samples had been replaced with those of his mother - who was arrested and then released in April - in a crude attempt to conceal the fact he was driving while drunk. Who Is In Jail, Who Is Not At present the boy's father, doctors Ajay Taware and Shrihari Halnor, hospital employee Atul Ghatkamble, and two middlemen are in jail in connection with this case. The boy remains with his family.
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Business Standard
03-07-2025
- Business Standard
Prosecution claims Porsche crash accused using delaying tactics in court
Accused persons in the 2024 Porsche car crash case involving a teenager driver are using delaying tactics to prolong legal proceedings by moving "frivolous" applications before a trial court in Pune, the prosecution argued on Wednesday. Currently, the court is hearing arguments for framing of charges against 10 accused involved in the swapping of blood samples of the 17-year-old juvenile, who fatally knocked down two IT professionals while driving a Porsche car allegedly under the influence of alcohol in May last year. The prosecution on Friday concluded its arguments seeking that charges be framed against all accused citing it has conclusive DNA evidence to prove the minor boy's blood samples were swapped with those of his mother at the state-run Sassoon General Hospital. All 10 accused, of whom nine are currently in jail, were equally involved in the conspiracy, it told the court. Defence lawyers representing the 10 accused, including the boy's father, were supposed to begin their arguments in the case on Wednesday. "A couple of accused have moved applications seeking a copy of the chargesheet. In my argument over their plea, I told the court the prosecution has already provided them a chargesheet copy. However, the defence told the court the prosecution has given them only a part (of the document) which is regarding the charges against them. But we told the court that a full chargesheet has been provided to all accused," said Special Public Prosecutor in the case Shishir Hiray. Such applications are "frivolous" in nature and the accused are deliberately using delaying tactics, he contended. Meanwhile, Sudhir Shah, a defence counsel representing Dr Ajay Taware, one of the 10 accused, while opening his argument on framing of charges, noted IPC sections 467 and 464 (dealing with forgery and making false documents) have been invoked against his client. These two sections were not applicable to Taware as he did not indulge in any forgery, Shah maintained. "Our client was not present at the Sassoon General Hospital when the blood samples were allegedly swapped and the report was tampered with. The section (related to forgery) is applicable to only those who have done forgery and not against the one who has instructed that person to do so," he argued. In the early hours of May 19, 2024, a Porsche allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy, son of a well-known realtor, in an inebriated condition knocked down and killed two IT professionals, Anish Awadhiya and his friend Ashwini Costa, who were riding a two-wheeler in Kalyani Nagar. Currently, the juvenile's father, Sassoon Hospital doctors Ajay Taware and Shrihari Halnor, hospital staffer Atul Ghatkamble, two middlemen Bashpak Makandar and Amar Gaikwad, and three others are lodged in jail in connection with the alleged swapping of the juvenile's blood samples to conceal his intoxication at the time of the crash. The minor boy is facing separate proceedings before the Juvenile Justice Board.
Indian Express
02-07-2025
- Indian Express
Accused in Porsche crash case using delay tactics in proceedings: Special Prosecutor
DAYS after the prosecution in the Porsche crash opened its case and concluded the arguments, the Special Public Prosecutor in the case, Adv Shishir Hiray told the court that the accused were using tactics to delay the proceedings of the court. Hiray made the arguments in reply to a demand for the copy of the chargesheet by two of the accused, which Hiray already provided to them. On June 27, Special Prosecutor Hiray opened the prosecution case under CrPC section 226. He had submitted to the court the evidence they have against the 10 accused and what charges can be framed based on that. Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray said, 'Two of the accused have moved an application seeking a copy of the chargesheet. We replied that we have already given them the chargesheet. They argued that we have given them only the part pertaining to the charges against them. We have said that we have already given them the full charge sheet and that this was a concocted demand. We have mentioned that these tactics used by the accused are to delay the proceedings of the court.' On May 19 2024, two young IT engineers — Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta — were killed after the speeding Porsche, allegedly driven by an inebriated 17-and-a-half-year-old from a Pune realtor family, rammed their motorcycle at Kalyani Nagar junction. The fatal accident had taken place after the minor and his friends had celebrated their Class 12 exam results at a pub. The minor was allegedly driving a Porsche Taycan luxury car which did not have number plates. Other than the minor driver the police have till now arraigned and chargesheeted a total of 10 accused. The 51-year-old realtor father and 50-year-old mother of the minor have been charged with criminal conspiracy for allegedly orchestrating a swap of the minor driver's blood sample—collected at Sassoon Hospital—with that of the mother's. 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, have all been arraigned. 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. In the hearing on June 27, Adv Hiray had concluded his arguments towards framing of the charges.
Indian Express
27-06-2025
- Indian Express
Conclusive DNA proof to show mother's blood swapped with accused minor's: Prosecution to court
As the prosecution in the Porsche crash opened its case and presented its argument towards framing of charges before a court, Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray submitted to the court that there was technical and scientific evidence to probe the conspiracy involving all 10 accused, including the DNA evidence that conclusively establishes that the blood sample of the accused minor driver's mother was collected in his place at Sassoon General Hospital. On May 19 last year, two young IT engineers — Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta — were killed after a speeding Porsche car, allegedly driven by an inebriated 17-and-a-half-year-old from a Pune realtor's family, rammed into their motorcycle at Kalyani Nagar junction. Special Prosecutor Hiray said, 'Today we opened the prosecution case under CrPC section 226. We submitted to the court what evidence we have against the 10 accused and based on that, what charges can be framed. I submitted that this was a major conspiracy in which all the 10 accused are involved. The conspiracy was to shield the inebriated CCL (Child in Conflict with the Law) and his co-passenger friends from any action by the court. And for this, the evidence was destroyed and fake evidence was fabricated. In this manner, a fraud was committed with the judiciary, which has been our argument from the beginning.' Section 226 of the Criminal Procedure Code pertains to the prosecutor opening the case by describing the charges brought against the accused and stating by what evidence prosecution proposes to prove the guilt of the accused. Hiray added, 'We explained to the court what evidence we have to prove this conspiracy. We have witness statements, technical evidence, scientific evidence, we have also recovered the money exchanged in the offence as part of the conspiracy and how the evidence established the role of each of the accused. For example we have established how money exchanged hands and how Sassoon doctors tampered with sample collection. We have DNA evidence conclusively proving that in the place of the CCL, his mother's blood sample was taken. Also, how the blood sample of one co-passenger's friend was swapped with that of his father, and another co-passenger's sample was exchanged with that of a third person. We have also established the money trail for the swapping of blood samples of the co-passengers.' He further said, We have submitted reports of the Test Identification Parade establishing the identities of the accused. We have submitted CCTV footages that place the accused at various locations during the conspiracy. We have also submitted reports of the handwriting experts. We have said that all 10 accused who were part of the conspiracy had the same intention. We have said that all 10 accused need not be at one place to hatch the conspiracy. We thus presented the entire landscape of the conspiracy to the court and requested that the charges be framed against these accused.' Following the incident on May 19, police investigation unravelled alleged cover-ups, bribery, abuse of power, and tampering with blood samples at the government-run Sassoon General Hospital. The fatal accident had taken place after the minor and his friends had celebrated their Class 12 exam results at a pub. The minor was allegedly driving a Porsche Taycan luxury car which did not have number plates. Other than the minor driver, the police have till now arraigned and chargesheeted a total of 10 accused. The 51-year-old realtor father and 50-year-old mother of the minor have been charged with criminal conspiracy for allegedly orchestrating a swap of the minor driver's blood sample—collected at Sassoon Hospital—with the mother's. 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, have all been arraigned. 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. Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read More
Indian Express
27-06-2025
- Indian Express
Conclusive DNA proof to show mother's blood taken instead of minor's: Prosecution to court
As the prosecution in the Porsche crash opened its case and presented its argument towards framing of charges before a court, Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray submitted to the court that there was technical and scientific evidence to probe the conspiracy involving all 10 accused, including the DNA evidence that conclusively establishes that the blood sample of the accused minor driver's mother was collected in his place at Sassoon General Hospital. On May 19 last year, two young IT engineers — Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta — were killed after a speeding Porsche car, allegedly driven by an inebriated 17-and-a-half-year-old from a Pune realtor's family, rammed into their motorcycle at Kalyani Nagar junction. Special Prosecutor Hiray said, 'Today we opened the prosecution case under CrPC section 226. We submitted to the court what evidence we have against the 10 accused and based on that, what charges can be framed. I submitted that this was a major conspiracy in which all the 10 accused are involved. The conspiracy was to shield the inebriated CCL (Child in Conflict with the Law) and his co-passenger friends from any action by the court. And for this, the evidence was destroyed and fake evidence was fabricated. In this manner, a fraud was committed with the judiciary, which has been our argument from the beginning.' Section 226 of the Criminal Procedure Code pertains to the prosecutor opening the case by describing the charges brought against the accused and stating by what evidence prosecution proposes to prove the guilt of the accused. Hiray added, 'We explained to the court what evidence we have to prove this conspiracy. We have witness statements, technical evidence, scientific evidence, we have also recovered the money exchanged in the offence as part of the conspiracy and how the evidence established the role of each of the accused. For example we have established how money exchanged hands and how Sassoon doctors tampered with sample collection. We have DNA evidence conclusively proving that in the place of the CCL, his mother's blood sample was taken. Also, how the blood sample of one co-passenger's friend was swapped with that of his father, and another co-passenger's sample was exchanged with that of a third person. We have also established the money trail for the swapping of blood samples of the co-passengers.' He further said, We have submitted reports of the Test Identification Parade establishing the identities of the accused. We have submitted CCTV footages that place the accused at various locations during the conspiracy. We have also submitted reports of the handwriting experts. We have said that all 10 accused who were part of the conspiracy had the same intention. We have said that all 10 accused need not be at one place to hatch the conspiracy. We thus presented the entire landscape of the conspiracy to the court and requested that the charges be framed against these accused.' Following the incident on May 19, police investigation unravelled alleged cover-ups, bribery, abuse of power, and tampering with blood samples at the government-run Sassoon General Hospital. The fatal accident had taken place after the minor and his friends had celebrated their Class 12 exam results at a pub. The minor was allegedly driving a Porsche Taycan luxury car which did not have number plates. Other than the minor driver, the police have till now arraigned and chargesheeted a total of 10 accused. The 51-year-old realtor father and 50-year-old mother of the minor have been charged with criminal conspiracy for allegedly orchestrating a swap of the minor driver's blood sample—collected at Sassoon Hospital—with the mother's. 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, have all been arraigned. 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. Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read More
