IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman has approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Kerala High Court's decision to uphold charges of culpable homicide against him in the case of a road accident that resulted in the death of journalist KM Basheer. Venkitaraman claims that there is insufficient evidence to support the imposition of murder charges, according to reports.
Previously, the Thiruvananthapuram Additional Sessions Court dropped charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against Venkitaraman and the second accused, Wafa Firoz. Instead, they were to be tried under Section 304a (death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code. However, on April 13, the High Court overturned this decision and ruled that they would be tried under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of commission of offence) of the IPC.
The accident occurred on August 3, 2019, when Venkitaraman, who was then the Director of Survey and Land Records, and Wafa were travelling in a car that hit journalist KM Basheer, resulting in his death. Venkitaraman was briefly suspended but was reinstated in January 2020. However, his posting as the Alappuzha District Collector in August 2022 received widespread criticism, leading to the revocation of the order. Currently, he serves as the General Manager of the State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd in Ernakulam.
The lower court had dropped charges against Venkitaraman related to drunk driving and culpable homicide, citing insufficient evidence. The prosecution argued that Venkitaraman's reckless driving under the influence of alcohol caused the accident. However, it highlighted that Venkitaraman, a medical graduate, allowed the police to collect his blood samples nearly nine hours after the accident. He subsequently admitted himself to a private hospital, which the prosecution claimed compromised the accuracy of the test results. Venkitaraman's arrest was recorded approximately 17 hours after the incident.