The judge father of the minor accused in the Kochi hit-and-run case has secured anticipatory bail from the court. This came after he moved court seeking anticipatory bail on being made an accused in the case where a Mercedes car allegedly driven by his 17-year-old son hit and killed a scooterist at Cheranalloor in Kochi.
The Additional District and Sessions Judge, who serves in a court in Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district of Kerala, was arraigned under Section 199A of the Motor Vehicles Act, which holds a juvenile’s guardian or the registered owner of the vehicle liable for an offence committed by the minor under the Act, police said.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday, when Jayabalakrishnan (55), a resident of South Chittoor in Cheranalloor, was struck by a speeding Mercedes-Benz on Container Road at Marapparambu. The car was registered in the judge’s name and was allegedly driven by his 17-year-old son.
Read | Reels Wiped, 3 Fled: Victim’s Family Alleges Cover-Up In Kerala Judge Son’s Mercedes Crash
In his bail plea, the judge claimed that he was unaware that his minor son had taken out the car. The judge stated that he went to bed at 1:28 am on Sunday after preparing for a judicial academy, and his son took away the car and sneaked out through the rear staircase without his knowledge.
The judge further claimed that he got to know of the accident only via a phone call at 2:14 am. He pleaded that he “cannot be held vicariously liable for an offence unless he abetted or had common intention.”
While granting bail to the judge, the Kerala High Court said: “What was the need to interrogate him for four hours and now for further interrogation?”
The court further questioned the cops on need for further interrogation. “Why is his arrest required? He is a judicial officer. He will co-operate with the investigation,” the court observed.
The judge had moved for bail a day after his home was searched by the Crime Branch officials. The judge claimed that the police had already seized phones, laptops, a motorbike and the car from his house, and that there was no ground for custodial interrogation.
Maintaining that he was not a flight risk, the judge argued that arrest would cause “irreparable damage to his reputation and the dignity of his office”.
Read | ‘His Father Saving Him’: Mercedes Crash Victim’s Daughter On Teen Accused
The judge’s plea came amid calls for his arrest from the victim’s family, who had alleged his collusion with the cops to save the minor accused.
Police initially registered a case under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (causing death by negligence) and released the teenager on bail from the police station on Sunday evening.
Following protests by the victim’s family outside the Cheranalloor police station, the teenager was apprehended again and booked under Section 105 of the BNS (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). He was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, which granted him bail.
The victim’s family has been demanding the arrest of the judge and his son. The family members are also planning to move the high court to seek the judge’s removal.
Police said that they have also initiated steps to cancel the bail granted to the minor.
