Soujanya case: High Court issues notice to CBI over implementation of directions

Bengaluru

The Karnataka High Court has issued notices to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and its Special Investigation Team (SIT) based in Chennai in connection with a petition seeking implementation of directions issued by a special CBI court in the soujanya rape and murder case, one of the most controversial criminal cases in the state.

The petition, filed by Kusumavathi, the mother of soujanya, urges the court to ensure enforcement of the special CBI court’s June 16, 2023 judgment, which had called for action against officials responsible for what it termed a “defective and flawed investigation” into the case. The special court had also directed that the matter be placed before the “acquittal committee” (Khulase Samiti) to examine lapses and wrongdoing by investigating officers.

Justice BM Shyam Prasad, hearing the petition, issued notices to multiple authorities, including the State Home Department, Director General of Police, Additional Director General of Police (Crimes and Technical Services), Inspector General of Police (Western Range), Superintendent of Police of Dakshina Kannada, and the CBI units in Delhi and Chennai. The matter has been adjourned to February 23 for further hearing.

Appearing for the petitioner, advocate M.R. Balakrishna submitted that it was unclear whether a acquittal committee even exists under the CBI framework and that no information was forthcoming despite efforts to ascertain this.

Case Background

Soujanya, a PUC student of Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College in Ujire, went missing on October 9, 2012. Her body was found the next day near Manjeshwar. Allegations of rape and murder followed. Initially, her father Chandrappa Gowda had lodged a missing person complaint at the Belthangady police station, which was later converted into a case of rape and murder.

The case was transferred to the CBI in 2013 and subsequently moved from Mangaluru to a special CBI court in Bengaluru in 2015.

In a landmark judgment, special CBI court acquitted the sole accused, Santosh Rao, of charges under IPC Sections 376 (rape) and 302 (murder), ordering his immediate release after he had spent nearly 11 years in jail. The court strongly criticised the investigation, noting failure of scientific evidence and serious procedural lapses, and called for accountability of erring officials.

The CBI’s appeal challenging the acquittal was later dismissed by the High Court, lending finality to the trial court’s findings. The present petition seeks to ensure that the accountability measures directed by the special court do not remain merely on paper.