Kochi, Oct 9 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Friday ordered a further investigation into the 2018 death of violinist Balabhaskar, directing the CBI to entrust the probe to an officer of proven integrity not below the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police.
Justice G. Girish allowed a petition filed by the musician’s parents, setting aside a December 23, 2025, order of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Thiruvananthapuram that had rejected their plea for further investigation.
The High Court directed the CBI to take the necessary steps within two weeks of receiving the order.
It said the fresh investigation should examine all relevant facts and circumstances, with particular attention to the 20 suspicious circumstances identified in an earlier High Court judgment in 2022.
The court expressed serious dissatisfaction with the subsequent investigation conducted by a CBI Inspector.
It described the probe as casual and lackadaisical, saying the officer had reached the same conclusions as the earlier investigating officer without adequately examining the doubts raised by the court.
The court also pointed out that witnesses whose statements had come under suspicion were not properly confronted with the evidence collected.
Instead, the Inspector obtained additional statements in which some witnesses denied their earlier versions or said they could not remember the details.
The court said these explanations had been accepted without proper scrutiny.
Balabhaskar, his wife Lakshmi, and their daughter Tejaswini Bala met with a car accident near Pallippuram in Thiruvananthapuram on September 25, 2018, while returning from a temple in Thrissur.
The musician and his daughter, who was around one-and-a-half years old, died.
Lakshmi survived after treatment.
The police initially registered a case of rash and negligent driving.
The Crime Branch later ruled out foul play.
The CBI, which took over the investigation in 2020, also concluded that the deaths resulted from an accident and found no evidence of a conspiracy.
The family challenged the findings, raising suspicions over the circumstances of the accident and the possible connection of people close to the musician with gold smuggling.
In 2022, the High Court ordered a further investigation into 20 suspicious circumstances.
The latest order follows the family’s contention that the subsequent probe failed to address those concerns adequately.
–IANS
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