Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today denied bail to businessman Alister Pereira, who has been sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment for mowing down seven construction workers and injuring eight others in a drunken state. The court had deferred the hearing on Pereira's bail application after enhancing his jail term to three years from six months awarded by a sessions court for crushing to death with his car on November 12 last year the workers who were sleeping on a pavement in sub-urban Bandra here.

Periera had surrendered to the police yesterday on the direction of the court. He was later taken to the Arthur Road jail. The High Court had also upheld a fine of Rs five lakh imposed on him by the sessions court in its verdict on April 13 this year. The court had enhanced his sentence to three years under 304(II) (if the act is done with the knowledge that it is likely to cause death, but without any intention to cause death, or to cause such bodily injury as is likely to cause death).