Fatal crash in Chandigarh: Porsche driver gets interim anticipatory bail

The accused, Sanjeev Baboota, who was behind the wheel of a Porsche car, which rammed into a scooter, claiming a life, has been granted interim anticipatory bail by a local court.

The March 10 accident on the Sector 4/9 dividing road had led to the death of a 27-year-old scooterist. Baboota had moved the anticipatory bail application after Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) was added to the case. The bail order was passed by additional sessions judge Ashwani Kumar on Friday after hearing arguments from both sides.

As per the prosecution case, complainant Soni informed the police that she was riding her Activa scooter along with her niece Gurleen, when a white car driven by Baboota, had come from the Sector 3/4 and 9/10 roundabout and crashed into another Activa scooter that was ahead of them. As a result of the impact, the pillion rider of the other scooter was thrown across the windshield of the car. The car then allegedly hit Soni’s scooter as well, causing her and her niece to fall. Instead of stopping, Baboota reportedly dragged the injured scooterist for a distance before crashing into a pole and signboard.

During the hearing, the court noted that the prosecution had not yet received the accused’s blood and urine test reports. The court pointed out that Baboota had not fled the accident site and was released on bail initially.

“It is a debatable issue whether the act of the applicant falls within the definition of death by rash or negligent act or culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which cannot be decided at this stage,” the judge observed.

The court also noted that Baboota had not misused the concession bail granted to him earlier and there was no pending application for its cancellation. The prosecution had not specified why custodial interrogation was required, the court pointed out.

Considering these factors, the court granted Baboota interim anticipatory bail and directed him to join the investigation on March 29. The court sought a status report from the prosecution on April 1 before deciding the bail plea on merits.