Kochi Benz accident: Kerala HC prevents arrest of accused judge

Kerala High Court on Thursday, October 29, prevented the arrest of a District Judge, who is the second accused in a car crash involving a Mercedes-Benz in Kochi. The luxury car, allegedly driven by the judge’s minor son, had rammed into a 55-year-old man, causing his death on October 25. 

A bench of Justice Kauser Edappagath, while hearing an anticipatory bail plea of the district judge, ordered police not to arrest the judge until the court issues any further orders. The court also directed the district judge to appear before the investigating officer at 1 pm on Thursday, October 29. 

“There is no scope for custodial interrogation. He will cooperate with the interrogation. Necessarily he has to be granted protection. He is a sitting judge,” the court observed, according to Live Law. 

The judge is the second accused in the case. He was booked under section 199A(1) (holds the guardian or vehicle owner guilty for an offence committed by a juvenile) and 199A(2) (imposes criminal penalties on the guardian or owner) of the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act. 

The case was registered under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and sections 181, 183, 199A(1) and 199A(2) of the MV Act.

The Crime Branch, which is investigating the case, had conducted searches at the residence of the judge and interrogated him on October 28. 

According to a report by Manorama, the accused judge and his son have given contradictory statements to the police. The judge reportedly said he was unaware that his son was driving or had taken his car, while his minor son claimed he had learned to drive through YouTube.

The Home Department had replaced the Kochi city police commissioner and suspended four policemen of Cheranalloor station following allegations of lapses in investigation. As per reports, Commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar was removed based on an internal report that the judge had talked to him after the fatal crash. The suspended police officers are Station House Officer Viswajith VS, Sub-Inspector Syam Kumar KS, Circle Inspector Manoj KT and senior civil police officer Arun Joshy.

The 17-year-old son of the District Judge, who is the first accused, was granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board in Ernakulam on October 26. The accident had resulted in the death of two-wheeler rider Jayabalakrishnan, a street food vendor.