Two of the accused in the Kochi Mini Cooper crash case — prime accused Suhail Sajeev and co-accused Joyal S Anto — have approached the Kerala High Court for regular bail, according to reports on Friday, October 30. This follows earlier bail denials in the same case: a trial court in Angamaly rejected the accused's bail applications on October 17, and the Ernakulam Additional Sessions Court denied bail to all four accused again on October 28.

Source: Bar and Bench

Sajeev's plea has been listed before Justice Kauser Edappagath today, Bar and Bench reported. Anto, who was a passenger in the car, has moved a separate bail plea which is yet to be listed.

LiveLaw reported that Joyal S. Anto is the third accused in the case and was a passenger in the Mini Cooper, which was allegedly driven by 19-year-old Suhail Sajeev in an intoxicated state. Joyal approached the High Court after being denied bail by the Additional Sessions Court, Ernakulam and the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Angamaly.

Source: LiveLaw

The crash took place in the early hours of October 11 on the Athani-Airport road in Nedumbassery, when the Mini Cooper allegedly driven by Sajeev hit a scooter carrying three youngsters — Eyas, Devika and Gopika — from behind, killing all three.

The Nedumbassery Airport Police Station registered a case under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder; the prosecution has also alleged offences under Sections 281, 49 and 3(5) of the BNS. Sajeev and co-accused Ninav were arrested on October 11, and Joyal and Ameen Shah were arrested the next day; all four were remanded to judicial custody.

In its October 28 order, the sessions court noted evidence indicating that Sajeev was heavily intoxicated when he drove the car at high speed and hit the scooter from behind. A chemical analysis detected alcohol levels of 161 mg per 100 ml in Sajeev's blood and 230 mg per 100 ml in his urine, the order recorded, according to Bar and Bench.

The allegations against all four accused are untested, no court has held them guilty, and every accused is presumed innocent until proved guilty. The High Court pleas are the latest step in the bail proceedings as the police investigation continues.