On Sunday, the Additional District and Sessions Judge of Irinjalakuda was granted anticipatory bail after the court found he had no direct involvement in the hit‑and‑run that killed 55‑year‑old Jayabalakrishnan on Container Road, Cheranalloor.
The bail came after police invoked Section 199A of the Motor Vehicles Act, which holds a minor’s guardian or vehicle owner liable for the offence, and a search of the judge’s home seized a Mercedes‑Benz, phones, a laptop and a motorbike.
The judge argued he was unaware his 17‑year‑old son had taken the car and that he learned of the incident at 2:14 a.m. after a call, insisting that he could not be held vicariously liable without intent or assistance.
Victim’s family, who had staged protests outside the Cheranalloor police station, demanded the judge’s arrest and threatened to file a petition seeking his removal from the bench, citing possible collusion with the police.
The teenager was released on bail by the police on Sunday evening but was re‑arrested after the family’s protests and booked under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita; he was later granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board.
The Kerala High Court, after questioning the necessity of a four‑hour interrogation, ordered the bail and will now decide whether to compel the judge’s arrest or allow the case to proceed through the juvenile justice system, a move that could set a precedent for judicial accountability in criminal cases.