The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed pleas filed by Mihir Shah and his driver, Rajrishi Bindawat challenging their arrest in the BMW hit-and-run case in Worli, Mumbai, in which a 45-year-old woman was killed last month.
The petitioners claimed that the arrest grounds were not given as per Section 50 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and their fundamental rights of personal liberty among others were violated due to “illegal detention”. The court today upheld the arrest, the Bar and Bench reported.
The petitioners contended that the police failed to follow constitutional mandate, and sought quashing of remand orders and their immediate release.
A bench of justices Bharati H Dangre and Manjusha A Deshpande had earlier indicated that it would decide as to whether the accused were required to be informed about the grounds of arrest even though they were caught ‘red handed’ and whether it would become an empty formality in such cases. The court had then reserved the verdict.
In July, 24-year-old Mihir Shah allegedly rammed his BMW car he was driving into a two-wheeler on which Pradip Nakhwa (50), and his wife Kaveri Nakhwa (45) were travelling. The deceased woman was allegedly dragged for nearly 2 km after she got stuck between the car’s bumper and tire and was later flung onto the road before she passed away.
Mihir Shah is the son of Rajesh Shah, a Shiv Sena leader close to the former Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. While Rajesh Shah was granted bail, Mihir and their driver Rajrishi Bindawat are in judicial custody in the case.
