HC refuses to stay court order on suspended IAS officer

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday refused to stay a magistrate court order granting bail to suspended IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman, who was arrested for alleged drunken driving that caused the death of a journalist.

Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan issued a notice to Venkitaraman on an appeal by the Kerala government, seeking to cancel the bail granted to him by the Judicial First Class magistrate court at Thiruvananthapuram.

The case will be heard again on Friday.

The magistrate court on Tuesday had granted bail to Venkitaraman, now being treated at the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, after perusing his blood report samples, which was found negative for alcohol content and the case diary of police. In its appeal, the state government alleged that 32-year-old Venkitaraman misled police and tried to destroy evidence of his alcohol consumption.