A Keralam court on Thursday rejected appeals seeking cancellation of bail granted to a 17-year-old boy accused of driving a luxury car into a scooter, killing a 55-year-old street food vendor in Kochi last month.
The Ernakulam Sessions Court upheld the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB)’s decision to grant bail to the teenager, whose father is an additional district judge.
The court was hearing appeals filed by the State and the victim’s family challenging a JJB ruling granting bail to the teenager.
A Mercedes-Benz driven by the judge’s minor son hit the two-wheeler near Cheranalloor at around 2.30am on October 25. Jayabalakrishnan, a resident of Manjali who ran a street food cart in the Chittor area, was thrown into the air and died on the spot.
The teenager was immediately caught and handed over to the police. He was later produced before the JJB, which granted him bail citing the absence of any prior criminal record.
Bhadrakeerthy, daughter of Jayabalakrishnan, told reporters that she and her family were losing faith in the judiciary. “We expected a verdict in our favour. But there was so much drama and so many twists inside the court. I am losing trust in the judiciary. There have been lapses on the part of the police and the judiciary. We will speak to our lawyers and reassess,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}Bhadrakeerthy, daughter of Jayabalakrishnan, told reporters that she and her family were losing faith in the judiciary. “We expected a verdict in our favour. But there was so much drama and so many twists inside the court. I am losing trust in the judiciary. There have been lapses on the part of the police and the judiciary. We will speak to our lawyers and reassess,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}A detailed copy of the court order is awaited.
The father of the minor, an additional district judge presiding over the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal in Keralam, was granted anticipatory bail by the high court on Thursday. The court orally told the prosecution that he is a judicial officer who has been cooperating with the investigation.
He was booked on additional charges of attempting to destroy evidence on Monday, police said. The judge was earlier booked on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, along with rash and negligent driving, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.
According to Cheranalloor police, the family of the victim, Jayabalakrishnan, lodged a fresh complaint on Sunday, alleging that the minor’s father spent a lot of time at the accident site in a bid to destroy evidence in the case. The complaint also alleged that the judge visited Cheranalloor police station after the accident and forced an officer to delete a photograph of his son that had been clicked by a member of the victim’s family.
The judge had earlier been granted interim protection from arrest by the Kerala High Court. He told the court that he was asleep at the time of the incident and was not aware that his son had taken the vehicle from the house.