New Delhi, March 10 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Pune businessman Vishal Agarwal, father of the minor accused in the high-profile Pune Porsche crash case, who is alleged to have been involved in a conspiracy to swap blood samples to conceal evidence of alcohol consumption after the fatal accident that claimed the lives of two IT professionals.

A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan granted relief, noting that Agarwal has spent around 22 months in custody and observing that similarly placed co-accused in connected matters had already been granted bail.

“In these circumstances, the appellant has made out a case for the grant of bail,” the Justice Nagarathana-led Bench observed.

While allowing the plea, the apex court imposed certain conditions, directing that Agarwal shall cooperate with the investigation and trial and shall not misuse the liberty granted to him.

It further directed that the accused will not contact any of the witnesses either directly or indirectly.

The bench added that any violation of the bail conditions would entitle the state government to seek cancellation of the relief granted to him. It also directed the trial court concerned to conclude the trial in the case at the earliest.

During the hearing, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Agarwal, submitted that several other accused persons in the case had already been granted bail.

Opposing the plea, the counsel for the Maharashtra government argued that the allegations were serious and that the accused had attempted to suppress evidence by swapping blood samples after the accident.

The case arises from the fatal accident that occurred in the early hours of May 19, 2024, in Pune’s Kalyaninagar area, where a Porsche car allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy rammed into a motorcycle, killing two software engineers — Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta — and triggering nationwide outrage.

According to the prosecution, the juvenile had consumed alcohol at two hotels before the crash.

During the investigation, it emerged that his blood sample was allegedly replaced to conceal alcohol consumption.

Investigators claimed that doctors at a government hospital allegedly discarded the juvenile’s blood sample and replaced it with that of his mother, purportedly in exchange for a bribe of Rs 3 lakh routed through intermediaries.

Agarwal is accused of hatching a conspiracy to swap blood samples in a bid to secure a ‘Nil Alcohol’ report for the minor and other occupants of the luxury car.

In December 2025, the Bombay High Court rejected the bail applications of multiple accused, including Agarwal, observing that there existed a strong prima facie case of criminal conspiracy to falsify medical evidence.

It noted that after the accident, the accused persons allegedly coordinated with hospital staff to replace blood samples and create false medical records to portray that the minors were not under the influence of alcohol.

The Bombay High Court held that such conduct amounted to tampering with evidence and forging valuable security documents, offences carrying severe punishment, including life imprisonment under Section 467 of the IPC.

It added that attempts to manipulate evidence struck at the very foundation of criminal justice and could deprive victims of justice.

Earlier in February, the apex court had granted bail to three co-accused — Ashish Satish Mittal, Aditya Avinash Sood, and Amar Santhosh Gaikwad — who were alleged to have facilitated the swapping of blood samples of two minor occupants of the Porsche car. Taking note of their incarceration of nearly 20 months, the Justice Nagarathna-led Bench ordered their release subject to conditions imposed by the trial court.

–IANS

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