New Delhi. A Kerala court today refused to cancel the bail granted to a minor accused in the Kochi Mercedes hit-and-run case. Additional Sessions Judge (Ernakulam) Kavitha Gangadharan has dismissed the petitions of the state and the victim's family challenging the order of the Juvenile Justice Board (Ernakulam). Earlier, the court had reserved the decision after hearing the arguments of both the sides. The court heard this case in a closed room and on camera.
The incident took place on October 25 near Cheranallur. A 17-year-old minor boy hit scooty driver Jayabalakrishnan, 55, with his speeding Mercedes car at around 2 am. The scooter driver died in this accident. A case was registered in this matter under section 106 of BNS. The police included Section 105 BNS in the FIR and produced the minor before the Juvenile Justice Board, which released him on bail. Challenging the order, the state and the victim's family filed separate appeals. In this case, the police also registered a case against the minor's father, who is also the owner of the car and is currently a judge. However, the Kerala High Court has put an interim stay on his arrest.
During the last hearing of this case, the court had questioned why the cyber police did not take any action against those social media accounts which had revealed the identity of a minor who came under the ambit of the law in violation of the 'Juvenile Justice Act'. After this, the court ordered the cyber police to submit the report of the action taken against such posts and accounts. The court had also ordered the investigating officer to appear in the court with the case diary. Earlier in this matter, Kochi Police Commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar was removed and R. Nishantini was appointed as the new commissioner.