Worli hit and run case: HC justifies the arrest of Mihir Shah and his driver as legal, rejects their petitions

The arrest of Mihir Shah and his driver Rajrishi Bidawat in connection with the accident in Worli was legal. Explaining that there is nothing illegal in it, the High Court on Monday rejected the petitions challenging the arrest of the two.

Mihir and Bidawat had challenged the arrest claiming that they were not told the reasons for the arrest. Also, the arrest was declared illegal and a demand was made to order his immediate release on bail. A bench of Justice Bharti Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande dismissed their pleas, declaring the arrest of the two to be legal.

Meanwhile, at the time of argument on pleas, if a person is actually seen or caught committing an offence, informing him of the reasons for his arrest is a mere formality. The bench primarily explained that non-observance of this rule does not make much difference in the case of reckless driving under the influence of alcohol and causing culpable homicide. 

Also, they expressed surprise over the claims of Mihir and Bidawat who challenged the arrest claiming that they were not told the reason for the arrest even after they were found committing the crime. The petitioner has actually been seen committing the offence. Even after that he does not know the reason of arrest. How does his arrest become illegal because he did not state the reason for his arrest? The facts and circumstances of each case are different. Accordingly, the court also clarified that action is necessary.

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Considering the allegations against the petitioner that he was driving recklessly under the influence of alcohol and hit the bike first. Then, due to the impact, the woman who fell off the bike was thrown for some distance. Not only this, the petitioner was in such a hurry that he left the FASTag card behind, he also forgot it. Therefore, this case needs to be looked at as an example, the court also commented while raising questions on Mihir's claim. The accused has to be informed that he is being detained as a mere formality even though he is aware of the act he has committed. However, the court also clarified that Mihir's claim that he was not told the reason for the arrest despite knowing everything was surprising.

What is the case?

Mihir is the son of CM Eknath Shinde faction’s deputy leader Rajesh Shah. He is accused of causing the death of Kaveri Nakhawa (45) by driving his BMW in a drunken state. On July 9, Mihir, while driving a BMW car in a drunken state, drove Kaveri, who fell on the ground after hitting the two-wheeler of a couple, instead of taking him to the hospital. Kaveri lost her life. Mihir fled from the spot after the accident. Rajesh Shah was also arrested for destroying evidence. However, he was released on bail.