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Synopsis

The Bombay High Court in its order rejecting the habeas corpus plea of Shiv Sena Leader’s son in the BMW Hit and Run Case noted that he did not have any regard for human life as he fled from the sport.

“Having no regard to human life the petitioners are alleged to have fled away from the spot and not only this, the petitioner Mihir Shah went absconding and was required to be arrested after two days,” the orders.

The high court division bench comprising Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande rejected the plea challenging the arrest of Mihir Shah and his driver Rajesh Bindawat.

Shah was arrested on July 9, two days after he allegedly rammed his BMW car into a two-wheeler in Mumbai's Worli area, killing Kaveri Nakhwa (45) and injuring her husband Pradeep.

Shah is accused of speeding off towards the Bandra-Worli Sea Link after the accident, even as the woman remained on the bonnet of the car and then got entangled in its wheels for a distance of more than 1.5 kilometres.

The accident occurred on Annie Besant Road as Mihir Shah returned from a long drive at Marine Drive following a night of partying in Juhu.

The bench in its order noted that “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 right to life and liberty and is equally applicable to the victim of the crime, before us,” the order reads.

The high court also recorded that for too long, the victims of crimes have been the forgotten persons in the criminal justice system. It said that crime is not the problem of the victim, since the victim did not create it.

Case title: Mihir Rajesh Shah vs State of Maharashtra