Amid growing outrage over the Kochi hit-and-run case, Kerala Home Minister has expressed surprise over the decision of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Board to grant bail to the 17-year-old accused, the son of an additional district judge in the state, and said police would move an appeal in court to get the bail cancelled.Ramesh Chennithala also promised action against the judge for allowing his minor son to drive the luxury car.Meanwhile, the three children of the deceased, Jayabalakrishan, staged two rounds of protest outside a police station in the district, demanding the cancellation of the accused’s bail as well as suspension of his father from his post.The accused’s father presides over a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in the state.The Kochi city police commissioner confirmed that the department will appeal the JJ Board’s decision.Jayabalakrishan, a 55-year-old eatery owner at Chitoor near Kochi, was killed after the teenager, allegedly driving a Mercedes-Benz at high speed, struck his scooter from behind.Protesting outside the Cheranallor police station under Kochi city police limits with her two siblings, Jayabalakrishan’s daughter Bhadra Keerthi said, “We will not return home without getting the bail cancelled. The judge should also be suspended and arrested.”Story continues below this adReferring to the JJ Board granting bail to the accused, Chennithala said in the Legislative Assembly on Monday, “That decision was surprising. Normally, bail is not granted in such situations. The vehicle’s owner is a judge. There would be action against the judge also, who allowed the minor to drive the luxury car. Police will soon move an appeal in court seeking cancellation of the bail of the accused minor.”Earlier on Sunday, after being charged with a bailable offence, the accused was allowed to leave the police station accompanied by his family.Following this, Jayabalakrishan’s three children, a few hours after lighting his funeral pyre, began their protest outside the Cheranallor police station.As outrage grew, police added non-bailable sections to the FIR, after which the children, all in their early 20s, left for home.Story continues below this adBut as the accused received bail from the JJ Board late on Sunday night, they were back outside the police station demanding justice for their father.“All are not equal before the law. We have lost respect for and hope in the system. We are ordinary people. He toiled for us, running a small eatery day after day, without taking a rest for the last three decades. Our father did not deserve such a death,” said his son Bharath Sankar. “The killer was allowed to go from the police station even before our father’s body was brought home. This is because the killer was a judge’s son and our father was only a thattukadakkaran (eatery owner). We are ready to go to any extent to show that ordinary people can also get justice delivered,’’ said Bhadra.Late in the night, the family said they were suspending their protest for the night and would return on Tuesday if authorities failed to address their demands.Kochi city police commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar said initially, the case was registered under section 106 (6) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with death caused by rash and negligent driving. “But we have changed the section to 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) after collecting evidence. The car was running at a speed of more than 100 km per hour. On Sunday night, he (the accused) was produced before the magistrate who was in charge of the JJ Board, which allowed him to go. We have decided to appeal against the decision. The accused was booked for driving without a valid licence and overspeeding. The culpability of the vehicle owner (the judge in this case) was also fixed,” he added.Story continues below this adEarlier, slamming the police, Chennithala had said, “Their actions were not in the right direction. Although it was a shocking accident leading to the death of an innocent man, police (initially) did not charge him (the accused) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder…”In road accidents caused by vehicles driven by minors, the vehicle owner is booked under section 199A of the Motor Vehicles Act.Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court registrar (district judiciary) has begun probing the incident and sought a report from the police.