In one of the most talked-about road accident cases in recent weeks, a court in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday rejected the Uttar Pradesh Police’s plea for judicial remand of Shivam Mishra, son of tobacco baron K K Mishra, in connection with a high-speed Lamborghini crash that injured several people on VIP Road earlier this week.

Mishra was arrested four days after the incident and was promptly granted bail on a personal bond of ₹20,000, with the judge citing procedural lapses by the police and insufficiency of evidence for custodial remand. Police maintain they have evidence including CCTV and eyewitness accounts pointing to Mishra as the driver at the time of the crash, while the defence disputes this and says he was wrongly arrested. A separate driver’s surrender application was also rejected by the court. The investigation continues amid strong public interest.

Court Questions Police Case, Grants Bail

The case took another significant turn when the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM-VII) Amit Singh, while hearing the remand application, criticised the police record and refused to send Mishra to judicial custody. The court highlighted that the prosecution had not placed sufficient evidence before it to justify a 14-day remand for further investigation, particularly given procedural concerns noted during the hearing.

Mishra’s legal team, led by advocate Naresh Chandra Tripathi, strongly argued that the arrest was malafide and premature, alleging that the police were under external pressure and had not completed essential investigative steps before detaining their client. “The court has refused the remand. He is being released now on an undertaking and personal bond,” Tripathi said outside court.

Despite the prosecution’s insistence that CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts indicate Mishra was driving when the Lamborghini struck pedestrians and other vehicles, the bail order emphasised that due process must be followed, especially in sensitive cases involving influential individuals. The court directed Mishra to fully cooperate with the police investigation and submit all required documents, including technical reports on the seized vehicle, before it may consider any further directions.

Incident, Claims and Contradictions: What Really Happened?

The backdrop to the legal drama is a dramatic Sunday afternoon incident in Kanpur’s Gwaltoli area, where a Lamborghini Revuelto a luxury sports car reportedly worth over ₹10 crore lost control on a busy stretch of VIP Road, ploughed into an autorickshaw, multiple vehicles, and pedestrians, injuring three to six people according to various eyewitness accounts.

Eyewitnesses and police sources initially said the car was being driven at high speed and that the driver seemed unable to control it before it ultimately hit several people and mounted a divider. Police registered an FIR first against “unknown persons” before later naming Shivam Mishra as an accused after further investigation and evidence review.

Amid the chaos, widely circulated videos appeared to show private security personnel commonly referred to as “bouncers” — attempting to extract Mishra from the scene or remove the car’s number plate, fuelling public debate over whether there was an effort to protect the accused. One video clip shows a bouncer trying to detach the luxury car’s number plate in the presence of police personnel.

There have been conflicting narratives about who was actually driving at the time. While police and some eyewitnesses maintain it was Shivam Mishra, the defence counsel asserts that a hired driver, identified as Mohan, was behind the wheel, and that Mishra who they say has a medical condition was seated beside him and experienced a health episode which caused the crash. Mohan’s surrender application was rejected by the court after police told it they did not consider him an accused under the present investigation.

The police stand by their investigation, with senior officers reiterating that evidence gathered so far implicates Mishra as the driver during the incident, and that any claims about medical conditions or other causes will be examined as part of the ongoing inquiry.

Mishra Family, Public Interest, and Road Safety Debate

Beyond the immediate incident, the case has drawn national attention not only because of the luxury car and high-profile accused, but also due to the broader conversations it has sparked about road safety, accountability, entitlement, and equality before the law. The Mishra family, who run one of Kanpur’s longstanding tobacco businesses, were previously in news in 2024 when Income Tax Department raids uncovered unaccounted assets and luxury vehicles, bringing additional scrutiny on their public and private dealings.

The incident has reignited discussions around how traffic police and investigators handle crashes involving powerful individuals versus ordinary citizens. Critics point out that initial FIR registration against “unknown persons” and the rapid turnaround from arrest to bail may undermine public confidence in impartial law enforcement, particularly in cases with clear video evidence. Some social commentators and viewers of online footage have expressed scepticism about whether wealthy or influential defendants receive preferential treatment compared to average motorists.

At the same time, legal experts note that irrespective of public sentiment, procedural fairness and adherence to evidentiary standards remain essential pillars of the justice system, regardless of the accused’s background. Courts are expected to objectively weigh available material against statutory requirements for remand or custodial interrogation, a decision underscored in the latest bail order.

The Logical Indian’s Perspective

The unfolding of this case is a stark reminder that justice must be both done and seen to be done. Road accidents that injure or endanger lives deserve serious investigation and accountability, but the integrity of the legal process must not be compromised for the sake of expedience or public pressure.

Upholding due process, transparent procedures, and equality before the law is critical especially in cases involving high net worth or influential individuals. At a time when public discourse is increasingly polarised, it’s important to focus on systemic improvements: better road safety enforcement, clearer evidence-gathering protocols and unbiased investigations that protect victims and respect defendants’ rights alike.