A sessions court that had earlier granted bail to a 40-year-old businessman Irfan Bilakiya, in custody since last October in connection with the pile-up accident at Bandra-Worli Sea Link that led to five deaths, considered his car's mechanical inspection report which stated that the vehicle was not roadworthy.
Bilakiya's bail applications have been rejected twice in the past. In the present plea, he had sought relief on the grounds of this inspection report and also, that there was brake failure.
He relied on CCTV footage which showed that he had applied brakes, due to which the red light indicators on the rear of his car lit up. His advocate told the court that Bilakiya himself had suffered grievous injuries in the mishap.
Accused was speeding
The prosecution opposed bail to him and told the court that he was speeding and had managed to cover a distance of 2,800 metres from the toll naka to the spot of the accident in only 92 seconds. It also said that he did not produce any evidence to show that the accident was caused due to brake failure.
Additional sessions judge Dr AA Joglekar considered that Bilakiya has not denied his presence at the spot and even his report in the chargesheet shows he was not intoxicated.
Car not roadworthy
It then considered the mechanical inspection report which stated that the car's mechanical condition is not roadworthy and mentioned 'cannot test' on whether brakes were working or not. The court also relied on an apex court judgment regarding giving bail when faced with two diametrically opposite versions. It said the case law has a similar set of facts.
The court also considered that the vehicle is in the name of Bilakiya's brother. The prosecution had claimed that there were 27 challans for traffic violations against the vehicle. The court noted the contention of Bilakiya's advocate that these traffic violations were not by him.
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