Journalist KM Basheer death: Setback to IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman; HC upholds culpable homicide charges

Kochi: In a major setback, a Sessions Court decision to dismiss the culpable homicide charges against IAS Officer Sriram Venkitaraman in the journalist KM Basheer's death was overturned by the Kerala High Court on Thursday. The government approached the high court against the sessions court judgment dropping charges under IPC Section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide).

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The Sessions Court's decision to discharge Venkitaraman under the Motor Vehicles Act's sections 184 and 185—which deal with drunk driving and reckless driving—and with Section 3(2) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act , however, was upheld. The court also noted that Sriram tried to destroy evidence.

The case pertains to the alleged drunk driving incident involving Venkitaraman and his friend Wafa Firoze, which led to the death of KM Basheer, a journalist, in 2019.

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas observed, "Driving vehicles after consuming alcohol can lead to the temporary or partial impairment of cognitive faculties. This disability can lead to errors in a judgment relating to distance calculation, distinguishing objects, speed control, and even other factors that are essential for safe driving. Thus, when a motor vehicle is driven after consuming alcohol, road accidents become a predictable consequence. In such a scenario, attributing knowledge to the driver of the vehicle that death can be likely consequence of drunken driving is legally tenable."

The state government's appeal against the Sessions Court's verdict was to set aside its order acquitting Sriram of homicide and to order a trial on the charge of murder. 

The Judicial First Class Magistrate court had received a 70-page chargesheet from the Crime Branch's Special Investigation Team. According to the chargesheet, the IAS officer was driving a speeding car after drinking alcohol and leaving a party at midnight on August 3, 2019. Basheer was killed instantly when the car struck him while he was riding a motorbike.

(Inputs from Live Law)