As per the lower court order in September 2022, instead of 304 IPC, the accused was to be charged with section 304a (death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code.

news Court Thursday, April 13, 2023 - 15:33
Written by  TNM Staff

The Kerala High Court on April 13, Thursday,  set aside the order by Thiruvananthapuram Additional Sessions Court which dropped charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman in the road accident resulting in the death of journalist KM Basheer. The charges under Section section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of commission of offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), will remain against the IAS officer after the decision by Justice Bechu Kurian .

However, Sections 184, 185, which pertains to dangerous driving under the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act and 3(1)(2) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, have been discharged in the case. The court was considering two petitions on the same case. One was by the state government challenging the sessions court order and another by Wafa Firoz, the co-accused in the case, against the sessions court order framing charges against her.

In November 2022, Justice Ziyad Rahman AA stayed the order of the Thiruvananthapuram sessions court for two months, while accepting a criminal revision petition filed by the state government. The IAS officer was booked in connection with a road accident case that resulted in the death of journalist KM Basheer in 2019.

As per the lower court order in September 2022, instead of 304 IPC, the accused was to be charged with section 304a (death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code. While punishment under 304 IPC would have included imprisonment for life or one that may extend to 10 years besides fine, 304a only constitutes a maximum punishment of imprisonment which may extend to two years with fine.

The prosecution had argued in court that Sriram’s reckless driving under the influence of alcohol was what caused the accident. It also pointed out that Venkitaraman, who has studied medicine, had only allowed the police to collect his blood samples up to nine hours after the accident. But the court had observed that the prosecution did not have enough evidence to prove that.

Sriram was the Director of Survey and Land Records during the accident and was briefly suspended in 2019. He was reinstated in January 2020 and now holds the post of General Manager of the State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd in Ernakulam. Before he was transferred to Civil Supplies Corporation, Sriram was appointed as the Alappuzha District Collector, which resulted in widespread criticism of the government. Following this, the government revoked the order. Before he was appointed the Alappuzha District Collector, Sriram held the post of Joint Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department.