Kerala HC restores culpable homicide charge against IAS officer for journo’s death
The Kerala government last year appealed against the sessions court’s order, insisting that the judge passed the order without considering the materials produced before it in the case against IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala high court on Thursday restored the culpable homicide charge against Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Sriram Venkitaraman in connection with the alleged drunk driving case related to the death of journalist KM Basheer in 2019. The high court, however, discharged his friend Wafa Firoze who was with him in the car, observing that there was no material evidence to indicate that she intentionally aided or instigated him to commit the offence.
Justice Bechhu Kurian Thomas’s ruling on Thursday came on an appeal by the Kerala government against the decision by the sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram to drop the culpable homicide charge against the IAS officer.
In its verdict in October 2022, the sessions court said “there was no evidence to prove that he was drunk at the time of the accident on August 3, 2019, that claimed the life a young journalist”.
The government faulted this conclusion in its appeal, underlining that Venkitaraman delayed his treatment and blood check when he was rushed to the general hospital in the state capital soon after the accident. The doctors later referred him to the medical college hospital but he declined the advice of doctors and police and got himself admitted to a private hospital.
The government reasoned that there were many witnesses to the accident who gave statements that he was inebriated at the time of the mishap but he deliberately delayed his medical test. His blood sample was reportedly taken 10 hours after the accident, the government said, adding that the IAS officer was a medical doctor by training and was aware of the consequences of the delay.
In his verdict, justice Thomas referred to the IAS officer’s conduct to draw conclusions about his alleged motive.
“After being referred to the medical college hospital, the first accused could not have gone to a private hospital contrary to the reference unless he wanted to cause the disappearance of evidence of the alleged offence,” justice Thomas said.
“Prima facie, it is assumed that that the first accused was overspeeding and was driving the vehicle after consuming alcohol and had even caused the destruction of evidence relating to the offence,” the high court said.
Soon after the incident in 2019, the government suspended Venkitaraman from service. The suspension was revoked a year later. He is currently with the state civil supplies corporation after a move to appoint him as Alapuzha collector was withdrawn after protests.
Venkitaraman, second rank holder in the civil service examination in 2013, was once a hero of the state after he demolished a number of encroachments in hill station Munnar and locked horns with many influential people and politicians, but his image suffered a beating after the accident. Journalists alleged that the powerful bureaucratic lobby played its role well in shielding him and weakening the case.