Bail to accused in 2025 Mandrem accident rejected

Margao: The Bombay high court has rejected state govt's application seeking cancellation of bail granted to Deepan Rajeev Batra, the Delhi youth accused of deliberately running his car over a Mandrem woman following a dispute over a dog.

Justice Neela Gokhale found no infirmity in the bail order passed by the additional sessions Judge at Mapusa on July 3, 2025, observing that none of the Supreme Court's parameters for cancellation of bail were made out in the state's application.

The court noted that Batra has been complying with bail conditions — reporting to the investigating officer once a month, either physically or virtually, and attending the trial court on scheduled dates.

The state filed the cancellation application in Sept 2025, though the matter could not be heard until now. The court, however, left it open for the state to file a fresh cancellation application should Batra violate any bail condition.

Batra, 23, a resident of Paschim Vihar in Delhi, was arrested in Feb 2025 after he allegedly ran over Maria Joao Fernandes with his four-wheeler in the Junaswada area of Mandrem.

Fernandes succumbed to her injuries. The police registered an FIR against Batra under sections relating to murder and rash driving under the sections of BNS.