Man denied bail over accident that killed two women

Dismissing the bail plea of a man accused in a road accident in which two women were killed, the Delhi High Court has described the case as a "sure fire recipe for courting disaster".

A bench of Justice Hima Kohli denied bail to Sidharth Grover, son of a retired bureaucrat, who was facing charges of causing death by rash and negligent driving in an accident that took place in the capital's Safdarjung Enclave Sep 5 this year.

According to the prosecution, Grover was driving a Swift Dzire car at high speed on the wrong side of the road. The prosecution also alleged that he was under the influence of alcohol.

He lost control of the vehicle and hit five people, including two women, who later succumbed to injuries.

"The evidence gathered so far reveals that on the fateful day, the petitioner was under the influence of liquor during the daytime and was found to be driving a vehicle in a rash and negligent manner on the wrong side of the road, which can only be described as a sure fire recipe for courting disaster, the consequences whereof were suffered by innocent bystanders," the court said last week in its order copies of which were made available to the media Tuesday.

Declining to give relief to the accused, the court said it cannot ignore the gravity of the offence, where two precious lives were lost and others have suffered injuries.

Grover's counsel and senior advocate Ram Jethmalani sought bail on the ground that the investigation of the case has been concluded and the charge-sheet has been filed. So, there was no compelling reason to continue the detention of the petitioner in judicial custody.