The Kerala High Court on Thursday set aside the Thiruvananthapuram Additional Sessions Court order discharging IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman from the charge under section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) in a case registered in connection with a road accident that claimed the life of journalist K. M. Basheer.
Justice Bench Kurian Thomas partially allowed a revision petition filed by the State government challenging the Additional Sessions Court order discharging the IAS officer from the culpable homicide and other charges.
Thiruvananthapuram incident
The fatal accident involving IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman that killed journalist K.M. Basheer on August 3, 2019. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Basheer, a journalist based in Thiruvananthapuram was killed in a road accident in 2019 when an overspeeding vehicle driven by Venkitaraman hit his motorcycle and ran over him, at the Museum Junction in Thiruvananthapuram. The prosecution alleged that Venkitaraman, who was accompanied by his friend Wafa Firoz, was boozed up when the accident occurred.
The court observed that the contention that there was an apparent attempt by the IAS officer to wriggle out of the timely medical test could not wholly be ignored. After being referred to the Government Medical College following the accident, he could not have gone to a private hospital unless he wanted to cause disappearance of the evidence.
Alcohol consumption
Reckoning these circumstances and material produced by the prosecution in support of the case, it could prima facie be assumed that he was driving the vehicle after consuming alcohol and had even caused destruction of the evidence. The court also observed that the absence of medical report regarding the level of intoxication could not be a reason for discharging a person under Section 304 IPC, if there are other materials to arrive at the conclusion that the accused was driving the vehicle after consuming alcohol.
The court, however, upheld the sessions court order to the extent it discharged Venkitaraman from the offences under Sections 184 and 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act (dangerous driving and drunken driving respectively) and the offence under section 3(2) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
The court also allowed the revision petition filed by Firoze, and discharged her from the offence under section 188 of the Motor Vehicles Act (punishment for abetment of certain offences).
