Second Additional Sessions Court Judge K Shivaram on Wednesday acquitted all the 13 accused in the politically-sensitive Shyamashankara Reddy and Kadirappa murder case due to lack of evidence.

Advocate Shivareddy and 12 others were acquitted as the prosecution failed to prove the murder charges. 

The case had taken a political turn as the Corps of Detectives which had probed the murder had filed a first information report in the Srinivaspura JMFC court alleging that former Speaker and MLA Ramesh Kumar and his brother Krishnamurthy, Reddappa and Ramaswamy had hatched a conspiracy to eliminate the two. The High Court had upheld the additional FIR by the CoD. The Apex Court also upheld the FIR.

Now, the High Court has issued a warrant issued against Ramesh Kumar by the JMFC.

Congress worker Shyamshankara Reddy and Kadirappa, a Dalit, were murdered on March 31, 2003.

During the 2003 elections to the Srinivasapura taluk Milk Producers’ Co-operative Organisation, Shivareddy had accused Shyamashankara Reddy and Kadirappa of humiliating him on March 28, 2003.

Prosecution charge was that Shivareddy had others had hatched a conspiracy on March 31 to murder Shyamashankara Reddy and Kadirappa. When the duo were riding on a bike, a group of people had attacked them with lethal weapons and murdered them. A case was registered about the murder with the Srinivasapura taluk, Gaunapalli Police Station.

The police had filed charge sheet against Shivareddy and12 others under 120 (b), 143, 144, 147, 148, 149 and 302 of the IPC. As many as 43 witnesses were cross examined.  on Wednesday gave a judgement to the effect that due to the failure of the prosecution in proving the accused guilty, they have been acquitted.