The High Court of Kerala on Thursday refused to drop culpable homicide charges against IAS Officer Sreeram Venkitaraman, who was booked for driving rashly and mowing down a journalist in an inebriated state in 2019.
The Single-Judge Bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, while setting aside a Sessions Court order, observed that driving vehicles after consuming alcohol could lead to temporary or partial impairment of cognitive faculties.
Noting that a blurred vision, coupled with reaction to sudden stimuli were known consequences of alcohol consumption, the High Court noted that this disability could lead to errors in judgment relating to distance calculation, distinguishing objects, speed control and even other factors, which were essential for safe driving.
When a motor vehicle was driven after consuming alcohol, road accidents became a predictable consequence, it added.
The Single-Judge Bench said that in such a situation, attributing knowledge to the driver of the vehicle that death could be a likely consequence of drunken driving was legally tenable.
Further, the High Court held that absence of a medical report regarding level of intoxication could not be the reason for discharge under Section 304 IPC, if there were other materials to arrive at the conclusion that the accused was driving a vehicle after consuming alcohol.
The Bench further held that prima facie it could be assumed that the first accused was overspeeding and driving a vehicle after consuming alcohol and had even caused destruction of evidence relating to the offence.
Since timely medical examination was not done, offence under Section 185 could not be attracted, noted the High Court.
It further took in view the fact that accused Venkitaraman, even after being referred to a medical college, went to a private hospital, which attributed that he wanted to cause the disappearance of evidence of the alleged offence.
The High Court, however, discharged second accused Wafa Firoz for the offence under Section 188 of the Motor Vehicles Act, which was related to punishment for abetment of certain offences.
It ruled that providing facility for driving a vehicle without anything more could not amount to abetment.
A journalist named K.M. Basheer was allegedly killed when a vehicle driven by Venkitaraman, ran over him at high speed, at Museum Junction in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala in 2019.
Co-accused Wafa Firoz was accompanying the IAS officer during the incident.
(Case title: State of Kerala vs Sreeram Venkitaraman; Wafa Najim alias Wafa Firoz vs State of Kerala)