Benz car accident: HC directs police not to arrest judge

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the police not to arrest an Additional District and Sessions Judge in connection with a fatal car accident involving his 17-year-old son, killing a scooterist in Cheranalloor here.

Justice Kauser Edappagath passed the order after hearing the state and the counsel for the judge on his anticipatory bail petition.

The court also directed the judge to cooperate with the investigation.

The family of the deceased has filed an impleading petition, which the court will consider later.

The judge approached the High Court seeking anticipatory bail after the police named him as an accused in the case.

The case pertains to an accident in the early hours of Sunday when Jayabalakrishnan (55), a resident of South Chittoor in Cheranalloor, was hit by a speeding Mercedes-Benz on Container Road at Marapparambu.

The car was registered in the judge's name.

According to police, Jayabalakrishnan, who ran a roadside eatery, was returning home on his scooter when the accident occurred.

The police initially registered a case under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (causing death by negligence) and released the minor on bail from the police station on Sunday evening.

The move triggered protests outside the Cheranalloor police station, with the deceased's son and daughter, accompanied by activists, demanding the arrest of the accused and his production before the Juvenile Justice Board.

Senior police officers subsequently intervened. Following a preliminary investigation, the police invoked Section 105 of the BNS, which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Although the Juvenile Justice Board subsequently granted bail to the minor, the police named his father as an accused in the case.

The judge was questioned by the police on Wednesday, and further questioning was scheduled for Thursday afternoon, police said.