10 January,2025 04:56 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The bus involved in the accident. File Pic
A Mumbai court on Friday denied bail to the driver of the bus, Sanjay More, involved in the Kurla BEST bus accident case on December 9, which had resulted in the deaths of seven persons and injured more than 40, reported the PTI.
An electric bus of the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking had hit several vehicles late night that day on the arterial SG Barve Road, following which driver Sanjay More was arrested under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Sanjay More's bail plea was rejected by Additional Sessions Judge VM Pathade, though a detailed order has not been made available as yet, according to the PTI.
In his plea filed through advocate Samadhan Sulane, More had claimed the accident was the result of a mechanical fault in the bus and that he had been unjustly arrested.
ALSO READ
Accused’s lawyer filed RTI to find why bus was sent to depot before analysis
Senior IAS officer Harshdeep Kamble takes over as GM of BEST
Mumbai: Only 42 out of 989 BEST-owned buses have working cams
Kurla BEST bus crash: Driver says he minimised loss of lives with evasive action
Magistrate court grants police request, gives Kurla bus driver judicial custody
The prosecution, however, contended no technical fault was found in the ill-fated bus.
After hearing arguments from both sides, judge Pathade rejected More's bail plea.
In December, More had approached the sessions court, seeking bail, claiming that the bus that was involved in the death of nine people and injuring 49 others, had a mechanical fault.
Sanjay More, the accused, has been asserting that he saw a spark in the bus.
"In the bail application, we are stating that the BEST bus had a mechanical fault, which may have caused the accident. The police had obtained 11 days of police custody, and now he is in judicial custody. We filed a bail application because More's custody is no longer necessary. The court has agreed to hear the argument on January 2 and has instructed the Kurla police to submit a report on the bail application," said Samadhan Sulane, advocate for Sanjay More had earlier stated.
mid-day had previously reported that More had claimed to have seen a small spark in the bus before losing control. However, the police said, "Though he insists that he saw a spark in the BEST bus, both the RTO and the BEST reports indicate there was no mechanical fault. The accident occurred due to the driver's negligence."
(with PTI inputs)
