Parents to be blamed for allowing minors to drink & drive: SC

NEW DELHI: Noting that there have been frequent cases of drunk minors snuffing out innocent lives while driving cars, SC Monday said their parents are to be blamed for allowing them to drink and drive. It, however, granted bail to three accused in Pune Porsche accident case in which two young engineers died while a minor was allegedly at the wheel.

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said that there cannot be punishment before trial and directed release of the accused who already spent 18 months in jail. They were allegedly involved in tampering of evidence by swapping blood samples of their kids with their own. Father of the main accused, who is a minor and was allegedly driving the case, is still in jail.

SC, however, lamented over prevailing social conditions where well-off parents do not spare time for their children and try to compensate for it by giving them money and lofty gifts like sports cars. It said such parents are to be blamed when their minors crush innocent people on road with their cars.

“Something has to be said about parents. Parents were unable to control the children. They took keys. Celebration cannot be driving at full speed and killing people on footpath or the poor. This is not the first time such a thing has happened. Law has to catch up. The main one responsible is parents who give money to kids to have a gala time. Parents have no time to spend with children and talk to them. Instead they give mobile, ATM cards and cars,” the bench observed.

The accused moved SC after their bail plea was rejected by Bombay HC. The accident took place around 2.30 am on May 19, 2024, when a Porsche car, allegedly driven by a juvenile in an inebriated state, rammed into a bike in Pune.


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