A sessions court in Ernakulam on Thursday refused to cancel the bail granted to the minor accused in the Kochi Mercedes-Benz crash at Cheranalloor, dismissing the appeals filed by the State and by the family of the deceased scooter rider. Additional Sessions Judge Kavitha Gangadharan pronounced the order on the pleas challenging the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), Ernakulam, which had released the 17-year-old on bail.

Source: Live Law

Bar and Bench, which also reported the order, said the teenager was initially booked for rash driving and causing death by negligence under Sections 281 and 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and that police later invoked Section 105 BNS (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) read with Sections 181, 183 and 199A of the Motor Vehicles Act. The JJB had granted him bail on October 26, a day after the crash.

Source: Bar and Bench

According to the FIR registered by Cheranalloor police, the car driven by the 17-year-old rammed into the scooter ridden by 55-year-old street food vendor Jayabalakrishnan at around 2 am on October 25 while he was returning home. He died in the crash. The minor was first released on custody bail when the case carried Section 106 BNS; after police added the more serious Section 105, he was produced before the JJB, which again released him on bail. The State and the victim's family then filed separate appeals against that order.

The court had reserved its verdict on November 2 after hearing the parties in an in-camera proceeding. During the hearings it had expressed serious doubts about the manner in which the investigation was being carried out, directed the cyber police to submit an action-taken report on social media posts that revealed the minor's identity — disclosure of a child in conflict with law's identity is barred under the Juvenile Justice Act — and asked the investigating officer to appear with the case diary. On Monday the court also directed the parties not to make public statements that could prejudice the investigation or reveal the minor's identity. While pronouncing orders, the court also sought data on how often BNS Section 105 has been invoked in accident cases involving juvenile drivers, according to a News4Exchange report on the order.

The minor's father, a sitting district judge and the registered owner of the car, has also been booked in the case. In a separate order on Thursday, the Kerala High Court granted him anticipatory bail, observing that he had been cooperating with the investigation. The investigation into the crash itself continues, and Thursday's order means the minor remains on bail while it proceeds. The detailed sessions court order is awaited.