The Karnataka High Court is hearing a writ petition seeking FIRs in 74 unnatural death cases in and around Dharmasthala, with the petitioner arguing that the Special Investigation Team, a notified police station, cannot wait for cases to be transferred to it by the DGP.
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Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Monday heard a petition arising from the Dharmasthala mass burial allegations, in which the petitioner contended that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) must register FIRs and investigate on receiving information of cognizable offences, and that its own report to the Court, saying it can act only on cases transferred by the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP), is untenable. The allegations are untested and the Court has made no finding on them. [K v. The Special Investigation Team and Another]
A Division Bench of Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice K.S. Bharath Kumar heard the matter, W.P. No. 33799/2025, filed by the mother of a woman allegedly raped and murdered in Dharmasthala in 2012. The petitioner is not named here to protect the identity of the victim.
Background
The petition concerns 74 cases of unnatural deaths in and around Dharmasthala. It refers to an allegation by a sanitation worker that he was instructed to bury the bodies of women and children between 1995 and 2014 without following the mandatory procedure under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Karnataka Unnatural Deaths Rules, 2004. That allegation is untested.
The petitioner made a representation on 11 October 2025 identifying cognizable offences, but no FIR was registered. She seeks a writ of mandamus for registration of 74 separate FIRs, location of the burial sites and exhumation of remains, DNA identification of victims, forensic pathology determinations and action against officials who allegedly violated the mandatory procedures.
SIT report and petitioner’s submissions
According to the SIT’s report of 24 March 2026, it has “no authority to investigate/enquire into any case suo motu” and can proceed only on cases transferred to it by the DG&IGP.
The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Deepak Khosla, submitted that the SIT was declared a police station by a Government Order dated 6 August 2025, and that it had registered no FIR in respect of any unnatural death in the 14 months since. As a police station, he argued, it must register an FIR on information disclosing a cognizable offence without any authorisation from a superior, relying on Lalita Kumari v. Government of Uttar Pradesh.
State’s response
The State submitted that records of unnatural deaths up to 2010 were destroyed under a government circular, and that details after 2010 remain available with the authorities. It sought more time to file its objections, which the Bench declined, observing that the matter would proceed at the next hearing “whether or not the State’s objections are filed.”
Dharmasthala Mass Burial: Next hearing
The matter will be heard next on 4 November 2026.
Case Title: K v. The Special Investigation Team and Another | W.P. No. 33799/2025 | Hearing: 5 October 2026 | Bench: Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice K.S. Bharath Kumar | Next hearing: 4 November 2026
Appearances: For the Petitioner: Advocate Deepak Khosla.
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