Sowjanya rape-murder in Dharmasthala: SC seeks stand of Karnataka govt on plea for de novo investigation

The court pulled up the state government over its failure to file the details of the steps despite having taken time earlier to do the same.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday told the Karnataka government to file a detailed report about the steps it proposed to take in respect of a plea seeking re-investigation of the 2012 rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl Sowjanya at Dharmasthala after the acquittal of the accused, despite entrustment of the probe to the CBI.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K Vinod Chandran also directed Karnataka's Additional Advocate General Avishkar Singhvi to provide protection to the witnesses as senior advocates Shobha Gupta, Anand Sanjay M Nuli and Shekhar G Devasa, appearing for the victim's family claimed a number of witnesses in the case had died under mysterious circumstances.

The court also pulled up the state government over its failure to file the details of the steps despite having taken time earlier to do the same.

Singhvi said the matter was initially probed by the CID, then transferred to the CBI, which eventually conducted the investigation and filed the charge sheet.

"We want you to file an affidavit whether you can form an SIT to look into the matter all over again. There was a possibility of looking into the role of other accused. Give us a clear stand,'' the bench told the Karnataka's AAG.

As the counsel for the victims sought a fresh CBI probe, the bench said, "The incident is of 2012, the CBI was handed over the probe in 2013.''

The counsel said fortunately, the victim's belongings are still preserved, DNA test can be done. The trial court has even said the real culprits are other persons.

The court fixed the matter for consideration on July 14.

Notably, the trial court in its judgment on June 16, 2023 acquitted the accused stating that the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt and further directed to constitute a acquittal committee for initiating needful action against erring officers.

In 2024, the complainant filed a writ petition before the Karnataka High Court seeking re-investigation by CBI and direct the top police officer in Bengaluru to pass necessary orders as per directions of the sessions court's judgement against the erring officers.

On August 20, 2024, the high court dismissed the writ petition, while observing that the acquittal of Santosh Rao raised a begging question that there must be somebody else and this definitely demands re-investigation.

Subsequently, the Karnataka government formed an SIT in reference to statement of an individual alleging burial of hundreds of bodies in Dharmasthala region indicating serious atrocities, murders, rapes, unnatural deaths and disappearances over the past 20 years.