E-Paper
Gauri Lankesh case: SC indicates it may set aside part of K’taka HC order
A bench of justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and CT Ravikumar said, “The [Karnataka] high court has dealt with the matter lightly by quashing the charge sheet without analysing it. This is a serious thing. You cannot quash the charge sheet just like that.”
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its judgement on a plea by slain journalist Gauri Lankesh’s sister on the Karnataka high court order quashing charges of harbouring the murder accused under the Karnataka Control of Organized Crime Act (KCOCA), 2000.
A bench of justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and CT Ravikumar “tentatively” indicated that it might set aside a part of the high court order. “The high court has dealt with the matter lightly by quashing the charge sheet without analysing it. This is a serious thing. You cannot quash the charge sheet just like that,” the judges said.
Gauri Lankesh was shot dead in Bengaluru in September 2017. On April 22 this year, the high court had quashed charges made by a Special Investigation Team against Mohan Nayak of providing shelter to the murder accused under KCOCA.
Lankesh’s sister Kavitha Lankesh, a filmmaker, had petitioned the apex court against the high court’s order.
“Tentatively, we are indicating that we will quash the last part of the high court judgment as once the charge sheet is quashed, nothing remains for the investigating agency to find out whether you are a member of the organized crime syndicate under KCOCA,” the Supreme Court bench said.
The SIT had taken approval from Karnataka’s additional director general of police on August 14, 2018, to invoke sections under the KCOCA against Nayak.
A probe by the agency had revealed that Nayak was in close touch with Amol Kale, the main accused in the murder. Kale is also facing a probe in connection with the murders of political activist Govind Pansare at Kolhapur in Maharashtra in February 2015, and noted Kannada writer MM Kalburgi in August 2015 in Dharwad, also in Maharashtra.
The high court had said that Nayak cannot be said to be part of an organised crime syndicate as no criminal cases or charge sheets were filed against him in the past. Lawyer Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for Kavitha Lankesh (CHK) in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, said an offence of harbouring members of an organised crime syndicate does not require the accused to be a member of the syndicate or have a criminal record.
“At the stage of granting approval, there is no material to show his involvement in past crimes linked to the syndicate. The approval was granted without any application of mind. Subsequent to investigation, he can be named as an abettor but not as a member of the syndicate,” the Supreme Court said. “To this extent, the high court was correct.”
