The Kerala High Court on Thursday overturned a Sessions Court judgement discharging IAS Officer Sriram Venkitaraman from culpable homicide charges in a road accident case.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas overturned the part of the Sessions Court order that had dsicharged Venkitararman of charges under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of commission of offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
However, Justice Thomas upheld the section of the order that released him for the offences punishable by Sections 184, 185 (Driving Dangerously) of the Motor Vehicle Act (MV Act) and 3(1)(2) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
Wafa Firoz, another accused, had her revision petition granted, and she was released for the offence under Section 188 of the MV Act for abetment.
Venkitaraman was driving a car that rammed into and killed journalist KM Basheer in 2019.
Venkitaraman was allegedly discovered intoxicated by police following the accident. However, due to Venkitaraman’s ability to check himself out of the government hospital where the police had taken him, there was a major delay in collecting his blood sample for testing the alcohol level.
The Museum Police, Thiruvananthapuram, then filed a case against Venkitaraman and the passenger in the car at the time, Wafa Firoz.
In October 2022, the Additional District and Sessions Judge -I, Thiruvananthapuram, acquitted Venkitaraman and Firoz of the charges laid out in Sections 304 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act (MV Act), and Section 3(1)(2) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
However, the Court charged Venkitaraman and Firoz with violating Sections 279 (rash driving) and 304(A) (causing death by negligence) of the IPC, as well as Section 184 of the MV Act.
The ruling delivered today was based on two pleas filed following the decision of the Sessions Judge.
One was filed by the State government to challenge the Sessions Court order, and the other was filed by Wafa Firoz to challenge the Session Court’s decision to charge her.
According to the State’s motion, the order was issued by the lower court without taking into account the materials presented to it.
“The court below exceeded its jurisdiction in holding that the first accused did not drive the vehicle with either an intention to kill or knowledge that his act might result in the death of the deceased and also held that the first accused’s act was merely a rash and negligent act within the meaning of Section 304 A of the Indian Penal Code,” the plea said.
The appellant-State argued that Venkitaraman, as a certified doctor and senior Civil Servant, was well aware of the dangers of driving while inebriated. It was argued that the Court should not have withdrawn the culpable homicide allegation because there was awareness of anticipated effects without any intent.
