The Karnataka High Court is hearing a plea seeking registration of FIRs in 74 unnatural death cases around Dharmasthala, with the petitioner arguing that the SIT, a notified police station, cannot wait for the DGP to transfer cases.
The Supreme Court has directed a fresh, de novo investigation into the 2012 rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl in Dharmasthala, Karnataka, holding that a constitutional court can order a de novo probe where an investigation has been carried out in a manner that would prevent a fair trial. Setting aside a Karnataka High Court order that had declined reinvestigation, the Court directed the State to constitute a new Special Investigation Team, excluding officers from the earlier teams, to complete the investigation within three months. The appeal was pursued by the victim’s mother after her father died.
