Worli hit-and-run: Court refuses default bail to Mihir Shah

MUMBAI: The metropolitan magistrate court at Bhoiwada in Dadar has rejected default bail plea of Mihir Shah, the son of a Shinde Sena leader, arrested for allegedly driving under influence of alcohol and crashing his BMW into a scooter and killing the woman riding pillion after dragging her for over 1.5 km.
Dadar metropolitan magistrate, Suhas Bhosale, on Tuesday rejected the default bail plea filed by Shah.
According to the police Shah through his counsel had argued that as the Worli police investigating the hit-and-run case has failed to file charge-sheet in the 60 days’ time frame, he was liable to default bail. The 60-day period ended on Monday.
The prosecution on the other hand argued through public prosecutors Ravindra Patil and Bharti Bhosale that Shah was not liable for bail as they had applied stringent sections like 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which was culpable homicide not amounting to murder, if act by which the death is caused is done with intention of causing death, etc.
The punishment for the said offence was imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for not less than 5 years but which may extend to 10 years and fine. Apart from this, they had also applied sections 281 (rash or negligent driving so as to endanger human life), 125(b) (endangering life or personal safety of others), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence), 324(4) (destruction of property with the intent to cause wrongful loss to the public or any person) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act, on the accused.
They said the offence has punishment up to life imprisonment and so they are eligible to file charge-sheet in 90 days.
The court accepted the prosecution’s argument and rejected the default bail plea of Shah.
Shah crashed his BMW into a scooter which was being driven by Pradeep Nakhwa, 50, with his wife Kaveri, 45, riding pillion on July 7. While Pradeep escaped with a few injuries, Kaveri, who was caught between one of the tyres and the bumper of the car, was dragged for almost 2.5 km, following which Shah’s driver Rajrishi Bidawat took over the wheel and ran over the deceased once again while reversing.
Shah, who earlier denied drinking alcohol, later accepted consuming copious amounts of liquor in two phases before the crash.
His father Rajesh Shah, a leader of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, was also arrested by the police and later granted bail by a court.
Shah, who was on the run after the accident, was arrested on July 9.