Scribe’s death: Kerala High Court stays dismissal of culpable homicide charge against IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman

The court also halted the trial for three months, allowing the government to set right certain inaccuracies in the case.

ByK A Shaji

Published Nov 25, 2022 | 7:10 PMUpdatedNov 25, 2022 | 8:19 PM

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The High Court of Kerala on Friday, 25 November, issued an interim stay on a lower court order that acquitted controversial IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman and his friend Wafa Firoz of culpable homicide in a fatal drink-driving case.

Journalist KM Basheer was killed after the car Venkatraman was driving spun out of control and mowed him down in the early hours of 3 August 2019.

The interim stay order was issued after the state government approached the high court, saying that the  Thiruvananthapuram Additional Sessions Court’s dismissal of the culpable homicide charges was legally untenable.

Trial stopped for three months

The sessions court dismissed charges under Section 304 IPC  (punishment for culpable homicide) and Section 201 (causing the disappearance of evidence of an offence or giving false information) on 19 October.

File photo of Sriram Venkitaraman. (Sourced)

The court, however, upheld charges registered under Sections 304-A (causing death by negligence) and 279 (rash and negligent driving) of the IPC and Section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act.

.Venkitaraman had argued that there was no evidence proving him driven the vehicle in a drunken state, causing the hit-and-run case.

The high court also directed the lower court to halt the trial in the case for the next three months. The government had sought time to fix certain inaccuracies in the case.

Meanwhile, the high court would hear the prosecution and Venkatraman’s counsel and issue a final order on the charges to be registered.

In the criminal revision petition, the state government informed the high court that, according to witnesses, both Venkitaraman and Firoz were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. The petition also mentioned the duo’s reluctance in providing blood samples, allegedly to destroy evidence.

The government also argued that Venkatraman had tried to delay treatment when he was taken to the General Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram after the accident.

The prosecution has also informed the high court that the doctor at the General Hospital had asked the accused to consult a surgeon and referred him to the Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, for injuries sustained in the incident.

Related: Right-wing groups paint Sriram Venkitaraman as a devout Brahmin

Bid to destroy evidence

The IAS officer, however, went to KIMS Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, without informing the police. It was also understood that the accused “purposely delayed” the collection of his blood sample to dilute the alcohol content. The lower court did not consider the delay, the high court was told.

“The statements of witnesses, in unequivocal terms, stated that the first accused was in an inebriated state. Being a qualified doctor and a civil servant, he is well aware of the natural consequences,” the revision petition said.

It further argued that if the act was done with “the knowledge of the dangerous consequences” the case would fall under Section 304 IPC.

“Knowledge is the awareness of the person concerned about the consequences of his omission or commission, indicating his state of mind. There may be knowledge of likely consequences without any intention. Hence, the court below ought to have proceeded with the trial of the accused under Section 304 IPC,” the petition added.

The prosecution also claimed that the lower court had exceeded its jurisdiction in exercising its power of discharge and acted beyond the scope of Section 227 CrPC.

Related: The importance of being Sriram Venkitaraman

Cocktail party in Sriram’s honour

On 3 August 2019, Venkitaraman’s friends organised a cocktail party in his honour at a guest house for IAS officers in Kowdiar. After the party, Venkitaraman and Firoz drove off in the latter’s Volkswagen Vento, allegedly drunk.

Sriram Venkataraman takes over charge as Alapuzha district collector on Tuesday from his wife Renu Raj, who has been trasnferred to adjacent Ernakulam district. (South First)

Sriram Venkataraman takes charge as the district collector of Alappuzha. (South First)

Basheer was on his way home when their speeding car spun out of control and killed him. It was reported that Firoz had initially told that she was at the wheels, which was disputed by eyewitnesses.

The incident and the subsequent police probe led to widespread resentment against the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government, which allegedly took a stand favouring Venkitaraman. The charge sheet against him listed 100 witnesses and submitted 75 items of evidence.

The journalists union and Basheer’s family accused the government of conducting a botched probe.
Though suspended from service after the incident, he was reinstated as the joint secretary of the Department of Health and Social Justice in March 2020 despite a public outcry against the move.

His recent appointment as district collector of Alappuzha invited massive criticism. Within a week, he was transferred and appointed as head of the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation in Ernakulam.

When reports alleged that Venkitaraman was destroying evidence, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the government would not let him scot-free. He said the rule of the law would prevail, and Basheer would get justice.

On his part, Venkitaraman maintained that he was suffering from retrograde amnesia — a form of memory loss.

According to the World Health Organisation, “Driving under the influence of alcohol, or drink-driving, is a key risk factor for 27 percent of all road injuries.”