The Kerala High Court dismissed the Saudi Arabia-based father's plea for crime branch investigation citing no indications of electrocution as cause of death of the child. The image is generated using AI.
The Kerala High Court Thursday dismissed a Saudi Arabia-based man’s plea seeking a Crime Branch investigation into the death of his three-and-a-half-year-old, who died in a baby swimming pool at a resort in Kumarakom in 2017, holding that the child’s death was due to drowning.
While rejecting the father’s request for a Crime Branch investigation, Justice G Girish remarked, “There were no indications of chances of leakage of electricity into the baby swimming pool where the victim child met with his death”.
The child died in 2017, after which the police registered a First Information Report (FIR) treating it as an unnatural death. Later, the police submitted an investigation report to the sub-divisional magistrate, concluding that the child had drowned in the baby swimming pool of the resort.
The police stated that the investigation was conducted in a fair and proper manner by collecting all the scientific and circumstantial evidence, and the findings were consistent with the victim’s death due to drowning.
However, the father suspected electrocution as the cause of death and sought a crime branch investigation under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Section 482 deals with the inherent powers of the High Court to pass any order to prevent the abuse of the process of any court or to secure the ends of justice.
The father’s counsel argued that the discolouration of the child’s body supported the possibility of electrocution.
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However, the court rejected this contention, noting that the discolouration of skin, termed cyanosis, is a common sign of drowning, and the postmortem report did not suggest any peculiar features indicative of electrocution. The court emphasised that the chemical and pathological reports did not support the father’s suspicion of electrocution.
Justice Girish dismissed the father‘s plea for a Crime Branch investigation, upholding the investigation report of the Kumarakom Police.
Richa Sahay is a Legal Correspondent for The Indian Express, where she focuses on simplifying the complexities of the Indian judicial system. A law postgraduate, she leverages her advanced legal education to bridge the gap between technical court rulings and public understanding, ensuring that readers stay informed about the rapidly evolving legal landscape.
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