New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a fresh investigation into the rape and murder of Soujanya in Dharmasthala and directed that the probe be completed within three months.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which had investigated the case, had filed a report leading to the accused being acquitted. Challenging the outcome, Soujanya’s mother, Kusumavathi Gowda, approached the Karnataka High Court seeking a fresh investigation. The high court dismissed her plea, following which she moved the Supreme Court with a special leave petition.
During the proceedings, the Supreme Court had expressed serious reservations about the manner in which the CBI investigation was conducted.
At a hearing in July, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva observed that the investigating officer had effectively acted like a judge by relying on evidence collected during the earlier investigation instead of conducting an independent probe.
The bench had said the investigation appeared to have been based largely on a review of material already collected, rather than an independent examination of the case.
The court had also questioned the quality of the CBI investigation and reserved its order.
The Supreme Court has now directed that the case be investigated afresh and asked the investigating agency to complete the probe within three months.
The Dharmasthala case has remained a matter of public interest in Karnataka, with the fresh Supreme Court direction putting the investigation back in focus.
