Karnataka HC refuses to withdraw charge of murder not amounting to murder of father in fatal accident caused by minor son

View of Karnataka High Court. File | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Karnataka High Court has expressed concern over accidents caused by vehicles driven by minors and emphasized the responsibility of parents for the use of vehicles by minors, refusing to acquit a father of culpable homicide not amounting to murder after his 14-year-old son drove a car and caused a fatal accident that claimed three lives of a family.

“The message of the law must also be clear. A parent who knowingly puts the wheel in the hands of a child cannot always step aside for that child’s minority when an adventure ends in disaster. Parenthood entails not only affection and authority, but also responsibility. Roads are shared public spaces, not training grounds for illicit indulgence,” the court said.

The court went on to state that “when parental indulgence knowingly allows a child who is legally unfit to drive to operate a machine capable of causing death, and precious lives are lost as a result, the law is entitled to inquire, based on the evidence, whether it was merely negligence or whether it crossed the line of fault. That inquiry in the case merits early burial at the discharge stage, not a trial.”

Justice M Nagaprasanna made these observations while dismissing a criminal petition filed by Nadeem from Mysuru seeking to quash the charge against him under Section 304 Part-II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The petition was limited to only the charge of culpable homicide, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, because the petitioner did not challenge other related offenses that carry lesser penalties.

The incident occurred on December 10, 2020, when the petitioner’s minor son allegedly took the car for a drive. The vehicle driving at high speed and recklessly lost control, hit the divider and collided with the motorcycle. The accident resulted in the death of a couple, including their five-year-old child, while another child sustained injuries.

A case was initially registered for reckless and negligent driving, but after investigation, the police filed a charge of culpable homicide, which does not amount to murder for the petitioner.

Appellant argued that his son took the car without his knowledge or consent and that the material could at best support only a charge of negligence, not culpable homicide, which requires knowledge that the act was likely to cause death.

However, the court noted that the indictment materials show that the petitioner was in the habit of allowing his underage son to drive the car repeatedly, he himself handed over the keys to his 14-year-old son on the day of the incident.

The court noted that the petitioner was not behind the wheel, but the alleged act of “knowingly entrusting” the vehicle to a legally incompetent child is an affirmative act that could attract the requisite knowledge.

“If a parent knowingly places a motor vehicle in the hands of a 14-year-old child, knowing full well that the child is legally incompetent and clearly unfit to drive with him on a public road, the question of whether such conduct carries with it the necessary knowledge of likely fatal consequences cannot be ruled out at the threshold of the trial,” the Court noted, pointing out that in this case the prosecution is not essential, regardless of whether it is a trial. tantamount to murder.

Noting that Karnataka recorded 751 such accidents involving minors in 2025-26, Justice Nagaprasanna said, “The increasing incidence of such accidents therefore reinforces the need for courts to exercise caution before stopping prosecution at the threshold of prosecution where the prosecution itself contains material, prima facie, to indicate knowingly entrusting the vehicle to a minor.”

Published – 20 Oct 2026 19:32 IST