The State government has decided to appoint a special public prosecutor in the case concerning the death of journalist K.M. Basheer in a road accident involving IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman.
Senior advocate A. Santhosh Kumar was appointed as the special public prosecutor. He is at present appearing in a case related to the alleged attack on Enforcement Directorate officials during a raid on Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan’s residence in Thiruvananthapuram.
Basheer’s wife C. Jaseela had approached the Kerala High Court seeking the appointment of a special public prosecutor and a transfer of the trial to another court.
The court, which considered the petition recently, issued notice to the government to file its response. The government is expected to inform the High Court about the appointment of the special public prosecutor when the petition comes up for hearing.
The Home Department had earlier indicated that the demand for appointing a special public prosecutor would be considered.
Mr. Venkitaraman is the sole accused in the case. He faces charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, dangerous and drunken driving, and destruction of evidence.
Published – August 12, 2026 09:05 pm IST
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