Kerala High Court postpones action on judge accused in fatal scooter crash pending police report

The Kerala High Court's administrative committee, chaired by Chief Justice Soumen Sen and comprising five senior judges, met on Oct. 27 to review material related to a road-traffic accident that killed a 55-year-old roadside vendor. The judge, who serves on the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal in Irinjalakuda, has been named as an accused under Section 199A of the Motor Vehicles Act because he is the registered owner of the vehicle involved.

Since the police investigation is ongoing, the committee decided to defer any administrative or disciplinary action until it receives further reports from the investigating agency. The victim’s children have filed a complaint asking the Chief Justice to consider whether an inquiry is warranted and to obtain updates on the criminal case, including the application of Section 199A, which presumes liability of the vehicle owner when a minor commits an offence.

The FIR filed by Cheranalloor police states that the victim was returning home from his eatery when a 17-year-old driver, traveling from Vallarpadam to Kalamassery, struck his scooter near a Ford showroom on Container Road at about 2:20 a.m. The case was initially registered under Sections 281 and 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for rash driving and causing death by negligence, with Section 105 for culpable homicide later added. The minor was taken into custody, presented before the Juvenile Justice Board, and granted bail; the state’s request to cancel the bail is pending before a sessions court.

In a related development, Kochi City Police Commissioner R. Nishanthini, IPS, has been appointed after the previous commissioner was removed following allegations of procedural lapses in handling the accident case.