Court requires anonymity before hearing bail challenge
Additional District and Sessions Judge Kavitha Gangadharan criticized the disclosure of the teenager's identity in the State's bail cancellation petition and the victim's wife's application to join the proceedings, according to Bar & Bench and Live Law. The State's appeal included both his full name and home address.
The judge said the court had a duty to protect the child as well as the victim and could not proceed until the documents were corrected. She instructed the prosecution to apply to amend the cause title, replacing the teenager's name with an anonymous designation. Both parties were told to remove identifying information, including his address.
The court cited Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act. Its protections cover not only children accused of offenses but also children needing care and protection and those who are crime victims or witnesses. Names, addresses and other details that could identify them cannot be disclosed.
The judge also identified a procedural defect involving the State's filing of a criminal appeal under Section 101 of the Act. The bail cancellation proceedings are scheduled to resume on October 31.
Fatal collision and the bail proceedings
The Cheranalloor Police FIR places the collision at about 2 a.m. on October 25 in Kochi's Cheranalloor area. It alleges that the teenager was driving the Mercedes-Benz when it hit Jayabalakrishnan's scooter as he headed home from work.
Jayabalakrishnan, 55, was his family's sole breadwinner, NDTV reported. He had operated a small street food business for 30 years, supporting his household and funding the education of his three children.
Police first registered the case under Sections 281 and 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, covering rash driving and causing death by negligence, respectively. Reports said the teenager initially received station bail. Protests by relatives and local residents led police to add more serious charges, including Section 105, which covers culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Sections 181, 183, 199A(1) and 199A(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, were also added.
The Ernakulam Juvenile Justice Board granted the teenager bail on October 26. The prosecution then sought its cancellation in the sessions court. Jayabalakrishnan's wife applied to join those proceedings, while other relatives separately challenged the bail order. On October 28, the sessions court requested the board's case records and issued notice to the teenager.
Father faces charges and a vehicle notice
The teenager's father, an additional district judge serving at the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur district, owns the Mercedes-Benz. He has been named as a suspect and booked under BNS Section 105 together with Sections 181 and 199A of the Motor Vehicles Act. On October 29, the Kerala High Court gave him interim protection from arrest while it considered his anticipatory bail application.
Section 199A presumes responsibility on the part of a guardian or vehicle owner when a minor commits a motor vehicle offense, allowing prosecution and punishment subject to statutory exceptions. NDTV reported that police added the provision to the FIR to include the judge as the vehicle's owner.
According to Mathrubhumi English, the judge told the Crime Branch that his son had taken the car without his knowledge. He had previously given the same account at Cheranalloor police station and presented a WhatsApp group message to support it.
The Motor Vehicles Department has separately asked the judge to explain within seven days why the minor was driving his car, Mathrubhumi English reported. An unsatisfactory response could lead to further action, including suspension of the vehicle's registration.
Evidence collection and scrutiny of police handling
Kochi Police searched the judge's flat on October 28 under directions from the Kerala High Court, NDTV reported. A Crime Branch assistant commissioner of police and a Photographic Bureau team carried out the inspection, collecting CCTV footage and other evidence.
Four officers attached to Cheranalloor police station were suspended over investigative lapses, according to NDTV. Separately, PTI reported through India Today that Kochi City Police Commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar was transferred amid reports of shortcomings in the investigation. Kumar, an Inspector General-rank officer, was replaced by IG R Nishanthini. He publicly denied that the judge or anyone else had contacted him to influence the inquiry.
Jayabalakrishnan's daughter and son alleged that police and the judge worked together to protect the teenager and conceal the presence of three passengers, NDTV reported. The siblings cited an eyewitness account that four people were inside the car and that three left the scene after the collision.
NDTV also reported that the teenager had regularly shared driving reels on a public Instagram account with more than 2,500 followers before the crash. Sources cited by the outlet said some videos showed speeds reaching 200 kmph in the same Mercedes-Benz. Within hours of the collision, all posts had been deleted and the account had become private.
Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan visited Jayabalakrishnan's family on October 30 and pledged the government's full support in their pursuit of justice, IANS reported. The family gave him a complaint alleging that the teenager's father had tried to destroy crucial evidence after the crash.
