THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major relief to IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman, the Additional District and Sessions Court here has struck down the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (IPC 304) in the accident death case of journalist K M Basheer. Instead, the court has charged him under IPC 304 A for causing death by negligence.
The charges of rash driving (IPC 279) and the section 184 of the Motor Vehicle Act for dangerous driving will however stand, the court said.
The co-accused Wafa Najim also got relief as the charge of dangerous driving under the section 184 of the Motor Vehicle Act was scrapped. She will now have to face trial for abetting dangerous driving of Sriram (Motor Vehicle Act section 188).
On the ground of the severe IPC section 304 being scrapped, Sriram and Wafa will have to face the trial in other offences in the magistrate court. The two accused have been told to appear before the Magistrate court on November 20 where the trial on the motor accident case will begin.
The court removed the serious charge against Sriram during the hearing on his discharge petition. Sriram told the court that there was no proof of him being drunk while the accident had occurred and the IPC section for culpable homicide won't stand legal scrutiny in his case. Wafa, meanwhile, had argued that though the car driven by Sriram belonged to her, she did not encourage him to drive fast under the influence of alcohol.
Basheer, bureau chief of Malayalam daily Siraj, was fatally mowed down by a car driven by Sriram on August 3, 2019. Though there was allegation that Sriram was drunk at the time of the accident, the police allegedly delayed checking his blood sample, which proved to be very decisive in this case. Finally, when he was tested after the mandated right hours, alcohol traces could not be detected in his blood.