JOIN USOn March 25, 1993, some Dalit residents of Badanavalu village were attacked by 23 people following a dispute over their entry into Siddappaji Temple. The 23 accused were convicted of killing B R Narayanswamy, his son Madhukar, and their neighbour Nataraj.
Three of the accused had died during trial and the sentencing was given by the lower court in November 2010. The Sixth Additional District and Sessions Court Judge L F Malavalli also sentenced them to three years’ rigorous imprisonment for causing grievous hurt under Section 326 (A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and one year for spreading hatred among the two communities, under Section 153 (A) of the IPC.
Atrocity on children
The Court disposed off the matter related to the poor implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act, giving liberty to the petitioner to approach the local magistrate, if they knew of any incidents of ill treatment of children by the police.
Ullas, a social worker had filed a petition seeking prevention of child abuse and strict implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act. He had submitted that not much was being done to check rampant atrocities against children, in spite of the provisions in the Act.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice A S Bopanna gave the petitioner the liberty to conduct raids with the help of the Karnataka Legal Services Authority (KLSA) if he suspected any ill treatment of juvenile offenders.
The KLSA was directed to provide a vehicle for such raids. The petitioner was further given the liberty of approaching the local magistrate if he came across any instance of harassment. The Magistrate was directed to lodge a complaint and inform the local Superintendent of Police or Director General of Police who would then have to take action.
Intake to Tumkur varsity
The High Court has disposed of the matter related to enhancement of intake to Tumkur University after the vice chancellor and registrar submitted an affidavit stating that the errors will be rectified.
Earlier, in his affidavit filed before the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice A S Bopanna, V-C S C Sharma had apologised before the High Court for an ‘unintended’ error in enhancing the student intake for the year 2010-11.
Devaraj had filed a PIL claiming that the decision of the varsity to increase the intake to 44 students from 34 was contrary to resolutions of the academic council, syndicate and provisions of the Karnataka State University Act and UGC norms.
He had alleged that the intake was enhanced under pressure from various organisations. The Registrar apologised for the errors that had crept in fixing the intake.