Kochi : Ernakulam additional sessions court on Wednesday rejected the bail applications of Suhail Sajeev,19,the prime accused in the Nedumbassery car crash that claimed three lives. Additional sessions judge Syamlal S R also rejected the pleas of his co-passengers Ninav, Ameen Sha and Joyal S.
The four had approached the sessions court after the judicial first class magistrate court, Angamaly, rejected their pleas on Oct 17. The judge said the material prima facie indicated an offence punishable under Section 105 of BNS, which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The court noted that the prosecution had presented materials that prima facie indicated active participation and instigation by the three co-accused. The allegations included travelling with Suhail after consuming alcohol, failing to prevent him from driving recklessly and encouraging him to speed. One of the co-passengers had allegedly filmed Suhail driving at 160kmph. The court observed that the evidence collected so far prima facie indicated that Suhail was inebriated, drove at excessive speed and rammed into the scooter from behind.
Rejecting the argument, the court said the omission in the statement did not, by itself, render the inclusion of Section 105 unsustainable or provide grounds for granting bail. Because the report did not allege that Suhail was driving under the influence of alcohol, the defence had argued that the provision was improperly included in the FIR. The court also declined to accept the defence argument, based on Kerala and Karnataka High Court rulings, that the abetment charges against the other three accused would not stand. It distinguished those cases from the present one, citing the prosecution’s material indicating their alleged involvement.
The judge said the gravity of the allegations, the preliminary stage of the investigation, the need for custodial interrogation and the possible adverse impact of granting bail warranted rejection of the applications.