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 judge has been 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.
He pleaded that he “cannot be held vicariously liable for an offence unless he abetted or had common intention. 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. 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.
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 The judge further claimed that he got to know of the accident only via a phone call at 2:14 am. 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.
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.
