The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted interim protection from arrest to the Additional District and Sessions Judge who serves at the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) at Iranjalakuda in Thrissur district and was booked after the fatal Cheranalloor crash allegedly involving his minor son, Bar and Bench reported. Justice Kauser Edappagath, hearing the judge's anticipatory bail plea, ordered: "The police shall not arrest the applicant until further orders. However, he shall appear before the investigating officer today at 1:00 pm and if necessary as and when called for. The interrogation of the applicant shall be done in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court."

Source: Bar and Bench

Senior Counsel P. Vijaya Bhanu, appearing for the judge, told the court that his client had appeared before the police on Wednesday and was interrogated for over four hours, and that a fresh notice to appear had since been issued. Questioning the need for custodial interrogation, the bench remarked: "What was the need to interrogate him for 4 hours and now for further interrogation? Why is his arrest required? He is a judicial officer. He will co-operate with the investigation." Counsel for the legal heirs of the victim opposed the plea and submitted that the judge had tampered with evidence once he was informed of the accident — an allegation the judge denies through his plea. The court said it had to go strictly by law, granted the protection, and asked the prosecutor to furnish the State's response on the plea.

Source: Bar and Bench

The case goes back to October 25, when a Mercedes-Benz allegedly driven by the judge's 17-year-old son hit a two-wheeler in Kochi's Cheranalloor, killing scooter rider Jayabalakrishnan, 55, who ran a roadside eatery and was returning home after closing his business. The car is registered in the judge's name. The FIR invokes Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) read with Sections 181, 183, 199A(1) and 199A(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act; Section 199A presumes the guardian or vehicle owner responsible when a minor commits a motor vehicle offence, subject to statutory exceptions.

Source: Bar and Bench

In his bail plea, the judge has claimed he had no knowledge that the vehicle had been taken out: he says he learnt of it only when a telephone call woke him and informed him that his minor son had taken the car while he was asleep and met with the accident. The plea argues that Section 105 requires explicit mens rea — knowledge that the act is likely to cause death — and that attributing such knowledge vicariously to a parent who was asleep at home is, in the plea's words, "legally untenable". The judge is represented by Senior Advocate P. Vijaya Bhanu and advocate John S. Ralph.

Source: Bar and Bench

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala told the state Assembly on Tuesday that a case had been registered against the judge, in whose name the car was registered, and that the police had informed the High Court, which has to take action against the judge — the government, he said, has no role in that. He also acknowledged lapses by the police and said the Juvenile Justice Board should not have granted bail to the minor driver, India Today reported. The son was granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board in Ernakulam on October 26, and the State's plea seeking cancellation of that bail is pending before a sessions court.

Source: India Today via News89

Meanwhile, the family of the man who died has submitted a complaint before the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court seeking an enquiry into the judicial officer's conduct. Bar and Bench reported, citing sources, that the High Court's Administrative Committee held a preliminary meeting on October 27 to examine the material concerning the accident and, since the police investigation is still under way, decided to take no action against the officer at present and to await further material from the investigating agency. The judge's name is being withheld because identifying him could identify the minor in conflict with law, a protection Bar and Bench also applied in its reporting.