Kochi, Nov 2 (IANS): The Kerala Police have added a fresh charge against a judge in the Cheranelloor Mercedes-Benz accident case, in which his 17-year-old son allegedly knocked down and killed a scooterist. Police have added Section 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with causing the disappearance of evidence of an offence, news agency IANS reported on Monday.

Source: IANS via HiIndia

The new charge follows allegations by the family of the victim, roadside eatery owner Jayabalakrishnan, 55, that attempts were made to destroy evidence after the accident. In a complaint reported by Madhyamam, the victim's daughter alleged that the judge spent around 20 minutes at the accident site, attempted to tamper with evidence and tried to influence the investigation, and that an official board displayed on the car was removed after the crash. These are allegations made by the family; they have not been proven, and the Crime Branch is examining them.

Source: Madhyamam

The investigation was recently transferred to the Crime Branch on the directions of Kochi City Police Commissioner R. Nishanthini, and the Crime Branch is now probing the case, IANS reported. Nation Press, reporting the same development, said the evidence-tampering provision was invoked after the family's allegations that attempts were made to destroy or conceal evidence in the aftermath of the collision.

Source: Nation Press

Meanwhile, the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court has ordered that further proceedings in the case will be held in camera. The court took the decision in view of the nature of the case and the need to protect the proceedings and evidence, IANS reported. Live Law reported that the court was hearing appeals by the state and the victim's family challenging the bail granted to the minor by the Juvenile Justice Board, Ernakulam, and decided to hold the proceedings in camera because the case involves a child in conflict with law, whose identity the law protects.

Source: Live Law

The prosecution and the victim's family have also differed over the conduct of the case. The family sought the removal of the public prosecutor, alleging lapses in the prosecution. The prosecution, in turn, accused the family of not cooperating with the proceedings and of giving misleading information to the media. The court told the family that any complaint against the public prosecutor should be brought before it through the proper procedure, IANS reported.

The case relates to the accident on Container Road in Cheranalloor in the early hours of October 25, in which a Mercedes-Benz car hit the scooter ridden by Jayabalakrishnan, who was returning home, killing him. The car was allegedly driven by the judge's 17-year-old son. Since then, the judge has been booked as a co-accused, the Kerala High Court has barred his arrest until further orders while directing him to cooperate with the probe, and the minor was released on bail by the Juvenile Justice Board — a bail the state and the family are now seeking to cancel. The allegations against both the judge and his son remain allegations at this stage and are subject to the ongoing Crime Branch investigation and court proceedings.