Worli Hit and Run: Bombay High Court rejects plea by accused against arrest

The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed pleas filed by Mihir Shah and his driver Rajrishi Bindawat challenging their arrest in relation to the BMW hit-and-run incident in Worli in which 45-year-old Kaveri Nakhwa was killed last month. .A bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande rejected the petition by accused who had claimed that the arrest was illegal. The bench while dismissing the petition, emphasized that in cases where the grounds of arrest are well within the knowledge of the accused, they cannot claim that the grounds were not communicated to them in writing."We are of the clear opinion that since the grounds of arrest in a situation like this, which are well within the knowledge of the offenders, they shall not be permitted to take advantage on the account that the ‘grounds of arrest’ are not communicated in writing," the Court said..It noted the ruling of the Supreme Court which mandates that the grounds for arrest must be communicated in writing to the accused, providing them with the necessary information to defend themselves and seek bail. However in this case, the Court made an exception on the ground that the accused were fully aware of the charges against them."Despite the fact that we are conscious of the position of law laid down by the Hon’ble Apex Court, and which we are duty bound to follow, we are making an exception in case of the present petitioners, as they were aware of the consequences of their gruesome act," the Court said.The Court further noted that since Bindawat was apprehended with the offending car and Shah had fled the scene and remained absconding until his arrest, it was not inclined to grant the petitioners the benefit of the Supreme Court's orders..The tragic incident occurred on July 7, 2024, when Pradeep Liladhar Nakhwa and his wife Kaveri were struck by a speeding BMW while riding their scooter. They were en route to Worli Koliwada to sell fish when the collision occurred around 5:25 a.m. The impact was so severe that both riders were thrown off their scooter. Kaveri got trapped under the car and was dragged for a considerable distance before succumbing to her injuries, despite receiving immediate medical attention.Following the incident, Nakhwa reported the accident to the Worli Police Station, where he later learned that his wife had been found injured and taken to Nair Hospital, where she was declared dead. A case was registered under various sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.Through the investigation, police traced the BMW, identified through CCTV footage, which showed the car speeding away from the scene. Witnesses described seeing a young man driving the vehicle. Bindawat was arrested after he was located near the broken-down BMW. Shah fled the scene and was arrested two days laterShah, 24, is the son of Rajesh Shah, a Shiv Sena leader associated with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. While Rajesh Shah was granted bail, both Mihir Shah and Bindawat remain in judicial custody as the investigation continues..The petitioners argued that the police failed to provide proper grounds for their arrest, as required by Section 50 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and that their fundamental rights to personal liberty were violated due to illegal detention. They sought the quashing of the remand orders and their immediate release.The bench questioned whether it was necessary to inform the accused of the grounds for arrest, given that they were apprehended "red-handed.".The petitioners also argued that their arrest was illegal due to the police failure to provide written grounds for their detention which they claimed amount to violation of their constitutional rights under Articles 21 and 22 of the Indian Constitution. They contended that the absence of written grounds made their custody unlawful. However, the Court rejected this as the petitioners were fully aware of the circumstances surrounding their arrest and the allegations against them.The prosecution presented compelling evidence, including CCTV footage and witness statements, which clearly implicated Shah and Bindawat. They also highlighted that the Fastag used at the sea link toll was registered in Shah's name, further linking him directly to the crime.The court underlined that there was substantial evidence against the petitioners, including witness accounts and CCTV footage that corroborated the complainant’s version of events. "Both the petitioners, who had committed the accident which was seen by the eye witnesses and the fact that the fastag was swiped by the person driving the BMW at the sea link toll, was found to be in the name of Mihir Shah," the Court noted..The court further emphasized the importance of balancing the rights of the accused with the rights of the victim. "While we balance the rights of the accused which have been weighed on the parameters of life and liberty as enshrined in the constitution, we are of the firm view that the rights of the victim will also have to be tested on the same parameters of Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and liberty and is equally applicable to the victim of the crime before us," the Court noted while rejecting the plea..Advocates Niranjan Mundargi along with advocates Ujjawal Gandhi, Keral Mehta, Ashish Dubey, KR Shah, Ankita Bamboli and Parth Govilkar instructed by Kinjal Desai appeared for Bindawat.Advocates Rishi Bhuta, Neha Patil, Bhumika Khandelwal, Saakshi Jha, Prateek Dutta, Risha Rathod, Omer Farooq Khwaja, Vaishnavi Jhaveri and Bhavi Kapoor appeared for Shah.Public Prosecutor HS Venegavkar, along with Additional Public Prosecutors MM Deshmukh and SS Kaushik appeared for the State..[Read Judgment]