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HC grants interim relief to Sujatha Bhatt’s lawyer
The Karnataka high court on Thursday stayed a summons against an advocate who had circulated a press release about the special investigation team (SIT) probe into the allegations around mass burials in Dharmasthala
The Karnataka high court on Thursday stayed a summons against an advocate who had circulated a press release about the special investigation team (SIT) probe into the allegations around mass burials in Dharmasthala, people familiar with the proceedings said.
The court also barred police from taking coercive action against the advocate, who represents complainant Sujatha Bhatt, until the next hearing on October 8, they added. Sujatha Bhatt’s complaint about her daughter Ananya Bhatt, who allegedly went missing from Dharmasthala in 2003.
The advocate was named in an FIR registered at the Belthangady police station on August 22 for allegedly spreading false information and was served a summons on September 1.
A bench led by justice Sachin Magadum cited prior observations by the Supreme Court about special protections accorded to advocates under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution and statutory provisions such as Section 132 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA).
The court also noted a 2023 circular issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which instructed officers not to summon lawyers in breach of section 132, which protects the privacy of communications between advocates and clients, requiring director-level approval in case of an exception.
The legal developments come amid an expanding probe that began after a former sanitation worker CN Chinnaiah, presently in custody for alleged perjury, told authorities he had been compelled to bury several unidentified bodies in Dharmasthala between 1995 and 2014. The initial phase of the probe yielded human remains at only two locations out of thirteen identified by Chinnaiah, who was arrested after investigators found inconsistencies in his depositions before the SIT. A human skull that was on his person while making the initial complaint was later found to be a lab specimen over 40 years old.
The case has also drawn renewed appeals for reinvestigation from victims’ families. Ganesh, son of Narayana -- a mahout who was murdered along with his sister in 2012 in Boorje village -- has again petitioned the SIT for a probe into the double murder. “When we previously filed a complaint, SIT officials informed us that since the matter is in the High Court, it cannot be considered for investigation. We have withdrawn our petition in the court. We have attached a copy of the same and filed another complaint with the SIT. We have appealed to probe into the double murder case,” Ganesh told reporters on Thursday
Meanwhile, SIT officers revisited Banglegudda this week to further document and verify evidence connected with skeletal remains reportedly found at a location identified by Vittal Gowda, a relative of Sowjanya, who was found dead in Dharmasthala in 2012, officials concerned said, adding that tensions flared briefly during the inspection after an argument between a Kerala-based YouTuber and people gathered at the location.
The YouTuber, Manaf, who has appeared before the SIT for three days, said he was cooperating fully. “Truth will prevail, and it cannot be achieved by walking the path of lies. SIT is conducting a thorough probe, and I have been sharing everything I know,” he said. “If any mistakes have been made, even by us, let them come out,” he added.
