2 min readMumbaiMar 4, 2026 11:22 PM IST
A SESSIONS court in Vikhroli on Wednesday allowed the bail application of the father of a juvenile boy, who had allegedly given his four-wheeler for him to drive, causing a fatal accident earlier this month.
On February 5, the 17-year-old boy allegedly rammed a bike, causing the death of 33-year-old Ghatkopar businessman Dhrumil Patel, and injuring his wife. In his bail plea, the father had said he was neither present at the spot nor was he driving the vehicle, and that he was not aware that his son had taken his car. He had further said he was therefore not responsible for the death and the injuries. The Mumbai police opposed the plea stating that allowing a minor to drive a vehicle is contravention of the Motor Vehicles Act. Lawyer Rueben Mascarenhas, representing the victim’s family, had said there was an Instagram page purportedly belonging to the minor, showing him doing stunts on vehicles. He had also claimed that the family of the victim was approached for a settlement with an offer of Rs 40 lakh.
The court said the statement of the security guard working in the building where the accused resides shows that the father had handed over the keys of the car to the guard at 9.30 pm and after 45 minutes, the juvenile asked for the keys, which he handed over without enquiring anything. “Prima facie, the material on record thus goes to show that the applicant/accused was not having knowledge of the fact that at the time of incident his son took the vehicle which is required to be noted here,” the court said.
