HC dismisses woman's bail plea in hit-and-run case

Chennai, Jul 18: The Madras High Court today dismissed the bail plea of a woman, who allegedly mowed down a 45-year-old man while driving her luxury Audi car in the city earlier this month.

Dismissing the bail plea of Aiswarya Wilton, Justice S Vaidyanathan in his order said "Section 185(a) of the Motor Vehicles Act is very clear that Breath Analyser Test (BAT) is an immediate way of detecting consumption of alcohol.

The judge said the presence of alcohol in the blood of the accused exceeded the permissible limit. Noting that Aiswarya was not entitled for bail, the Judge said "If the petitioner is let out on bail, there is every possibility of her threatening the witnesses and hampering the investigation."

On the early morning of July 2, Aiswarya had allegedly mowed down Munusamy, a carpenter, while speeding in her car at Rajiv Gandhi Salai, killing him on the spot.

The public gave her a chase and managed to intercept the car. She was arrested and remanded in judicial custody the same day for alleged offences of rash driving and culpable homicide not amounting to murder under IPC sections read with Sec 185 (drunken driving) of the Motor Vehicles Act.

Aiswarya first approached the High Court on July 5 for bail. The petition was disposed of giving her liberty to approach the lower court first. After the Principal Sessions Court dismissed her bail plea on July 14, she approached the High Court again.

PTI