Kochi, October 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Kerala High Court on Thursday stayed the arrest of an Additional District Judge booked as the second accused in a road accident case in which his 17-year-old son allegedly drove a Mercedes-Benz car that killed a scooter rider in Cheranelloor, near Kochi.
Justice Kauser Edappagath passed the interim order while hearing the judge’s anticipatory bail petition. The judge is currently posted at the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur district.
The court directed the police not to arrest him until further orders and instructed him to appear before the investigating officer. It also ordered that his interrogation be conducted in accordance with Supreme Court guidelines.
Questioning the need for custodial interrogation, the court asked the investigating team why the judge needed to be arrested when he was cooperating with the probe. It observed that the judge was a judicial officer and would cooperate with the investigation.
Senior advocate P. Vijaya Bhanu, appearing for the judge, told the court that his client had appeared before the police on Wednesday and had been questioned for more than four hours.
However, counsel representing the victim’s legal heirs opposed the plea, alleging that the judge had tampered with evidence after learning about the accident. The High Court said it would proceed strictly in accordance with the law and sought the state government’s response to the anticipatory bail petition.
The accident occurred around 2.20 a.m. on October 25 on Container Road in Cheranelloor, when the Mercedes-Benz allegedly driven by the teenager rammed into a scooter ridden by Jayabalakrishnan, 55. He died at the spot.
In his petition, the judge claimed that he was asleep at home and had no knowledge that the vehicle had been taken out. He said he learnt about the accident only after receiving a telephone call informing him that his minor son had taken the car without his knowledge and met with the crash.
The FIR invokes Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, along with provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, including Section 199A, which deals with offences committed by juveniles and the liability of guardians or vehicle owners.
The Juvenile Justice Board granted bail to the boy on October 26. The state government’s plea seeking cancellation of his bail is pending before a sessions court.
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