The Supreme Court granted bail to three people accused of planning to swap blood samples in the 2024 Pune Porsche crash case, which led to the deaths of two persons.

A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan ordered the immediate release of Ashish Satish Mittal, Aditya Avinash Sood, and Amar Santhosh Gaikwad, subject to conditions to be fixed by the trial court. The Court noted that the accused had already been in custody for more than 18 months.

Legal Proceedings:

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for one of the accused, argued that there were no allegations against the two juveniles who were seated in the back of the car. He said that the car was being driven by a driver and not by a juvenile at the time of the accident, and that the juvenile accused of drunk driving was already facing proceedings before the Juvenile Justice Board.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave appeared for Ashish Mittal. The defence sought bail, pointing out that the appellants had been in jail for about 18 months without any proper justification.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the deceased's mother, resisted bail, calling it a "prime example of subverting the criminal justice system." He said the case showed a serious attempt to undermine the criminal justice system. According to him, the conspiracy went beyond the accident itself and involved an organised effort to interfere with the investigation, including swapping blood samples to conceal alcohol consumption.

After passing the bail order orally, Justice Nagarathna made strong observations on the responsibility of parents. She criticised the growing trend of minors consuming alcohol, being given cars, and attending dangerous parties, calling it a serious social problem. She also referred to repeated methods used in such cases, such as shifting blame, tampering with medical evidence, and avoiding legal consequences.

She emphasized restraint from in-depth comments to prevent trial prejudice: "Parents bear responsibility for failing to supervise their children. If we comment further, it risks prejudicing the trial against these appellants...Celebrations fueled by substances, high-speed driving, and deaths of innocent road users or roadside sleepers...the law must address this. Crucially, parents enable it by handing over vehicles and funds for lavish outings...This stems from parents lacking time for child conversations or bonding. Instead, they offer money or ATM cards, leaving kids to roam freely with phones."

Recap of the Pune Porsche Crash Case:

The case arises from a fatal road accident that occurred around 2:30 a.m. on May 19, 2024, in Kalyani Nagar, Pune. A Porsche car, allegedly driven by an intoxicated minor, crashed into a motorcycle, killing two 24-year-old software engineers from Madhya Pradesh, Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta.

Following the accident, the prosecution alleged that the juvenile’s father, businessman Vishal Agarwal, his wife, and other associates conspired with doctors at Sassoon Hospital to falsify blood test reports to remove evidence of alcohol consumption. Investigators claimed that ₹3 lakh was paid through middlemen to hospital staff, and that senior medical officers were involved in planning and executing the manipulation of evidence.

As part of this alleged conspiracy, the prosecution stated that the blood samples of two minor passengers seated in the rear of the car—who were suspected of having consumed alcohol—were replaced with blood samples belonging to others. The alleged substitution did not involve the minor who was said to be driving the vehicle.

Three accused were charged in connection with the alleged blood sample swap. Ashish Mittal, a friend of the father of one of the rear-seat minors, and Aditya Sood, the father of that child, were among the accused. The third accused, Amar Gaikwad, is alleged to have acted as a middleman and to have taken ₹3 lakh to arrange the replacement of the blood samples of the two back-seat minors.

The three accused were charged under multiple provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act for offences including forgery, tampering with evidence, and bribery.

Case Title – Ashish Satish Mittal v. State of Maharashtra along with Aditya Avinash Sood v. State of Maharashtra and connected case. [SLP(Crl) No. 21370/2025 and SLP(Crl) No. 41/2026]