The court mandates a re-investigation by a Special Investigation Team when prior investigations are deemed shoddy and influenced by external pressures, emphasizing the need for a fair and credible investigative process.

ORDER :

The petitioner is before this Court seeking a direction for re-investigation in Special Case No.60 of 2023 pending before the II Additional District and Sessions and Special Judge, Dakshina Kannada, Mangalore; investigation be handed over to an independent investigating agency and also sought direction to initiate departmental inquiry against the 3^rd respondent/ Investigating Officer.

2. Heard Sri Mayur D.Bhanu, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, Sri N.Spoorthy Hegde, learned High Court Government Pleader appearing for respondents 1, 2 and 4 and Sri P.Prasanna Kumar, learned Special Public Prosecutor appearing for respondents 5 and 6.

3. Facts, in brief, germane are as follows: -

3.1. A crime in Crime No.91 of 2022 comes to be registered for offences punishable under Sections 302 , 323, 392 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code and for offence punishable under Section 3(2)(v) and 3(2)(va) of the Prevention of Atrocities Act 2015 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’ for short). The crime comes to be registered pursuant to a complaint by the petitioner on 18-12-2022. It is the case of the complainant/petitioner that he is working as Supervisor/Manager at Sarah Farms situated at Shivaji Village, Belthangadi Taluk owned by one A.C.Kurian. On 17-12- 2022 at about 5.30 in the evening the complainant is said to have heard a loud commotion and people shouting. Upon hearing the same, the petitioner is said to have come out of the farm and followed the voice where he is said to have seen Shreedhar, deceased employee of the farm and one K.L. Anand Gowda, Mahesh and others assaulting said Shreedhar. Upon seeing the petitioner, they said to have ran away from the spot. The petitioner/complainant is said to have taken said Sreedhar to the farm house and treated him and asked him to stay in the farm house itself on that day. On the next day ie.., on 18-12-2022 in the morning around 6.30 p.m. when the petitioner went to the said place, said Shreedhar was not found and it is noticed that the accused persons had cut the fence, entered the farm house and killed Sreedhar and had thrown his body in the middle of the farm. Upon registration of the complaint on 18-12-2022, the Police recorded the statement of the petitioner and commenced investigation.

3.2. The investigation led to the Police filing a charge sheet not for offences punishable under Sections 302 and 392 or otherwise, but for offences punishable under Section 323 , a non- cognizable offence. The petitioner who was the first informant of the incident that happened on 18-12-2022 is now drawn as accused in a separate crime on the score that he has misguided the police. Therefore, the petitioner is before this Court seeking re- investigation into the case in Special case No.60 of 2023 where the offences are now limited to the one punishable under Section 323 of the IPC and the provisions of the Act.

4.1. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner Sri Mayur D.Bhanu would vehemently contend that the Police in a case which was for an offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC – murder failed to arrest the accused persons on the same date. A post-mortem was conducted on the body and a final opinion of the report with regard to cause of death is kept pending for receipt of a toxicology report. Subsequent to registration of FIR when the Police of Belthangady Taluk failed to arrest the accused, huge protest cropped up as the deceased was belonging to Scheduled Tribe and Karnataka Dalitha Sangharsha Samithi has staged that protest. The department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology replies to the queries of the Station House Officer observing that the deceased died due to cranio-cerebral injuries as result of blunt force trauma sustained to the head, which is most likely due to fall. The toxicology report was then submitted with regard to presence of alcohol and paraquat in the body. The final opinion of the postmortem report was presence of poison and alcohol in the stoma