Dharmasthala Burial Case: Karnataka High Court Issues Notice On Residents' Plea For Inspection & Excavation At Sites Identified By Them

The Karnataka High Court on Monday issued notice to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Dharmasthala burial cases on a plea by two residents of the town seeking consideration of their representation of taking time bound action to conduct site inspection and excavation of bodies at the locations identified by them. Justice M Nagaprasanna issued notice to the SIT on the petitions filed by Purandara Gowda and Another and said “Petitioners had to knock on the doors of the court as their representations were not considered by SIT constituted for the purpose for investigating into crime no 39/2025 (complaint lodged by a sanitation worker). Special Public Prosecutor B N Jagadessha accepts notice for respondent he shall secure instruction and make submission on Thursday.” Senior Counsel Deepak Khosla for the petitioner argued that representation dated August 6 and 29, 2025 have been given to the SIT. "It is asking the SIT to recover the bodies at different sites, which are half exposed to animals and also humans," he said. Further it was mentioned that a statement is made that if the information given in the representation made is found to be at fault then petitioners may be prosecuted. The plea prays to consider the representation and to take immediate, time-bound action to conduct site inspections and excavations at the locations identified by the petitioners, in their presence. In the alternative is to appoint a court commissioner, such as the Registrar (Judicial) or a Retired district judge, to accompany the petitioners to the sites they wish to identify, and to submit a factual report on the visible state of affairs to the court. Further, direct the respondent-SIT to submit a periodic status report to the court on the progress made in investigating all leads related to clandestine burials, to ensure its mandate for a comprehensive investigation is fulfilled in letter and in spirit. Case Title: Purandara Gowda & ANR AND Special Investigation TeamCase No: WP 27570/2025

Dharmasthala Burial Case: Karnataka High Court Issues Notice On Residents' Plea For Inspection & Excavation At Sites Identified By Them

Mustafa Plumber

Tags