A Kerala Sessions Court on Thursday refused to cancel the bail granted to a 17-year-old boy accused of driving a Mercedes-Benz car that fatally hit a scooterist in Kochi's Cheranalloor.

Ernakulam Additional District and Sessions Judge Kavitha Gangadharan dismissed appeals filed by the State government and the deceased's family challenging the Juvenile Justice Board's (JJB) decision to grant bail to the teenager.

The incident occurred in the early hours of October 25, when the teenager allegedly rammed a Mercedes-Benz car into a two-wheeler, killing its rider, Jayabalakrishnan. The accused is the son of an Additional District Judge.

The JJB had granted bail to the teenager on October 26, a day after the accident.

Initially, the police booked the minor for rash driving and causing death by negligence under Sections 281 and 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).

Following protests by the victim's family and local residents, the police subsequently added more serious charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 105 of the BNS. Sections 181, 183, 199A(1) and 199A(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, were also invoked.

The FIR additionally named the teenager's father, an Additional District Judge currently posted at the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur district, as a co-accused.

Both the State and the victim's family approached the Sessions Court challenging the bail order.

The court initially heard the matter in open court but conducted the final day's proceedings in-camera after expressing displeasure over the police's failure to act against social media posts disclosing the minor's identity.

Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, prohibits the disclosure of the identity of a child in conflict with law, except with the permission of the competent authority.

The court also directed the cyber police to take action against social media posts revealing the teenager's identity. It further advised the victim's family to comply with the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to the teenager's father in connection with the case.