KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday asked the state government how the prosecution could prove the criminal culpability of the accused in the death of Shehla Sherin, a Class V student of Government Sarvajana Higher Secondary School in Sultan Bathery, during the trial without any scientific evidence, including postmortem report. The court also asked whether postmortem was carried out and the presence of snake venom detected.
Justice Alexander Thomas made the observation while considering the anticipatory bail pleas of first accused C V Shajil, a teacher of the school, and third accused KK Mohanan, vice-principal of the school.
Sulthan Bathery police had registered a case against the accused under sections 304 A (causing death by negligence) and 34 of IPC R/W Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 (Care and Protection of Children). The petitioners approached the court apprehending arrest in the case.
M P Ashok Kumar, counsel for the petitioners, submitted that the death of Shehla was only a suspected case of snakebite and no postmortem was conducted to prove the cause of demise. Senior government pleader C K Suresh submitted that there was ample evidence to prove the offence against the accused persons.
He also said autopsy was not done following the request of the parents. It was the unnecessary intervention of the first accused, which delayed timely hospitalisation. Then the court asked how the legal responsibility could be fixed on him when he was not the class teacher of Shehla.
The court directed the police to file a statement explaining the evidence against the accused persons to prove their criminal culpability. The prosecution said the police did not intend to arrest the petitioners and conduct custodial interrogation.