A sessions court today on Friday took exception to the fact that the petitions filed to cancel the bail granted to a 17-year-old accused in the recent Mercedes car crash revealed the minor's name in violation of the law.
Two petitions were filed, one by the State and another by the accident victim's kin, seeking to cancel the bail granted to the minor-accused.
Ernakulam Additional District and Sessions Judge Kavitha Gangadharan noted that the accused teenager's details were revealed in the State's bail cancellation plea as well as a plea filed by the family of the scooterist who died.
The family filed the plea for impleadment in the proceedings.
"Until this is rectified, I cannot hear this. This is a clear violation of the Juvenile Justice Act. The full name of the Child in Conflic with Law is revealed. Is this how you file a petition before a court of law? You will have to correct the causetitle. This court is here to protect the child as well. Not just the victim," the judge said, after noting the lapse in family's impleadment plea.
The Court further noted that the State's bail cancellation plea also revealed the minor teen's identification details.
The Court proceeded to order that steps be taken to correct this lapse, so that the accused teenager's identity is kept confidential, as required under the Juvenile Justice Act.
"Memorandum of appeal filed under Section 101 disclosed the full name and residential address of the Child in conflict with law. The prosecution is therefore directed to file an appropriate petition for correction of causetitle substituting the child's name with an anonymised designation. Both the parties are directed to file without revealing the identity or address of the child," the court's order stated.
The matter will be heard again tomorrow.
The 17-year-old minor, the son of a judge, was driving a Mercedes-Benz car when he hit a two-wheeler in Kochi's Cheranalloor in the early hours of October 25, killing the scooter rider, one Jayabalakrishnan.
The teenager was initially booked under Sections 281 and 106 (1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), which are the offences of rash driving and causing death by negligence, respectively. According to reports, he was initially released on station bail.
After continued protests by the victim's family and local residents, the police added more serious offences punishable under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) read with Sections 181, 183, 199A(1), and 199A(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (MVA).
He was granted bail by the JJB the very next day, on October 26.
Both the State prosecution and the victim's family moved applications seeking to cancel his bail.
Public Prosecutor Manoj G Krishnan represented the State today.
The FIR also names the father of teenager's son, an additional district judge who is currently posted at the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) at Iranjalakuda in Thrissur district.
The MACT judge was arraigned as an accused in the FIR since Section 199A provides that when a minor commits a motor vehicle offence, the guardian or vehicle owner is presumed to be responsible and can be prosecuted and punished, subject to statutory exceptions.
The Kerala High Court had on Thursday granted the judge interim protection from arrest.
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