The father of the key accused in the Ahmedabad accident case in which a speeding Jaguar car ploughed into a crowd of people on the ISKCON flyover resulting in at least nine deaths moved the Gujarat High Court on Monday seeking interim bail on health grounds.
Pragnesh Patel, 44 — father of key accused Tathya Patel — is also facing charges in the accident as he has been named co-accused.
The move came after the Ahmedabad district court previously rejected a similar plea on grounds related to his need for cancer treatment and medical evaluation at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.
The court, opposing bail plea, put forth its argument asserting that he demonstrates a pattern of engaging in similar offences and then proceeding to amicably settle disputes with the complainants.
In addition, the court referred to a report issued by the Jaguar car company, which seemingly suggests that Tathya Patel failed to apply brakes despite knowing that he was driving the vehicle at over 141 kmph.
Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad district court also dismissed the bail application filed by Tathya Patel on August 24.
This decision was motivated by a notable factor that has surfaced – five of Tathya Patel’s acquaintances who were moving in the Jaguar car at the time of the accident have emerged as pivotal prosecution witnesses.
Among them, a few have already provided their statements under CrPC Section 164 — a provision that pertains to confessional statements.
In response to this, the court expressed concerns regarding potential tampering and manipulation of these essential witnesses.
Consequently, it was observed that there exists a distinct apprehension about the susceptibility of these witnesses to undue influence or intimidation.