The accused in the July hit-and-run accident in Worli, Mumbai, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking immediate release on ground of him being “illegally detained”. The court will hear the habeas corpus petition filed by the accused, Mihir Shah (24), on Wednesday.
Police arrested Mr. Shah on July 9, for allegedly hitting a couple riding a two-wheeler, and killing Kaveri Nakhwa, 45, in the early hours of July 7. Her husband Pradeep Liladhar Nakhwa was injured in the accident.
According to the police, Mr. Shah has admitted to driving the luxury car and hitting the couple under the influence of alcohol. After the incident the police said he swapped seats with his driver, took an autorickshaw from Kala Nagar area of Bandra East and went to a friend’s home in Goregaon. He kept shifting his location before being arrested from a resort in Thane.
In his plea, Mr. Shah has sought quashing of the orders passed by a local court remanding him first in police custody and then judicial custody. He claimed that any further detention would be in “utter violation of the Constitutional mandate” and a failure to comply with Section 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Under this Section, the police while arresting a person have to communicate full particulars of the offence for which one is being arrested or other grounds for such arrest. Mr. Shah has sought that his arrest be declared illegal.
The habeas corpus [produce the person] petition filed by advocate Neha Patil will be heard by a Division Bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande on Wednesday.
Mr. Shah and his driver Rajrishi Bidawat are in judicial custody. His father, Rajesh Shah, in whose name the car was registered, was arrested by the police along with the driver on July 7. Rajesh Shah is party worker of Shiv Sena (Shinde) in Palghar district and is said to be a close aide of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Mr. Rajesh was granted bail on July 8.
