B’luru court to decide case against DVS’ son

The Supreme Court on Friday asked a Bengaluru court to decide a matter related to a woman’s complaint of rape and cheating against son of Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda without being influenced from observations made by the Karnataka High Court.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Indira Banerjee disposed of a SLP filed by the woman-complainant against the Karnataka High Court’s order of December 16, 2016.

The 30-year-old woman-complainant had filed a plaint with RT Nagar police in Bengaluru on August 27, 2014, alleging rape and cheating by Karthik Gowda alias D S Karthik. She claimed Karthik had sex with her several times on promise of marriage.

The police filed a final report in the matter on September 6, 2015, saying no case of rape was made out. It had, however, contended since the complainant was seen with the accused in public places, at best an offence of criminal breach of trust could be made out in the case. Karthik, however, approached the Karnataka High Court, challenging judicial magistrate’s order to take cognisance of the offence of criminal breach of trust against him. He sought quashing of the proceedings against him.

The high court, in its order, allowed his plea for quashing of the proceedings before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. Meanwhile, the complainant-woman also filed a revision petition against the magistrate’s order.

Taking into consideration of woman’s pending plea before a sessions court, the HC said, if the complainant succeeded in her revision petition for pursuing the offences of rape and kidnapping to compel marriage, then the charge of criminal breach of trust would also be revived. On Friday, the top court allowed a plea by advocate Akarsh S Kanade that the plea pending before the Bengaluru court should be decided without being influenced by the observations of the HC.