Karnataka High Court refuses to quash the culpable homicide charge against a father who handed car keys to his minor son

21 October 2026

Justice M Nagaprasanna decided Nadeem Ur Rehman v. State of Karnataka, Criminal Petition No. 10711 of 2026.
On December 10, 2020 the petitioner's 14-year-old son drove his father's car on the old Mysuru-Bengaluru road and caused a collision.
Three members of one family died and another person was injured.
Section 304 Part II of the Indian Penal Code was added against the father during investigation.
The sessions court had already rejected his discharge application.
The Court said parenthood carries not merely affection and authority, but responsibility.
It added that criminal culpability cannot be measured by counting the dead, and left the question of knowledge to the trial.