Karnataka High Court rejects Roopa Moudgil’s plea for IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri’s call records
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a petition filed by senior IPS officer Roopa Moudgil seeking the Call Data Records (CDR) of IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri, terming the plea unnecessary and irrelevant to the defamation case pending against her.
Roopa had earlier approached the magistrate court requesting directions to telecom companies to produce Sindhuri’s call records. The request was linked to a defamation suit filed by Rohini Sindhuri after Roopa allegedly posted objectionable material against her on Facebook. The magistrate court had rejected the plea, following which Roopa moved the High Court.
A single-judge bench of Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum upheld the lower court’s decision, observing that the IPS officer’s petition was flawed and appeared to be an attempt to delay the trial. The bench noted that the case pertained to allegations of defamation and not to issues that required CDR examination.
The court said Roopa had accused Sindhuri of tarnishing her reputation and even linked her to the death of a police officer in her posts, which were the basis of the defamation complaint. While Roopa’s counsel had sought Sindhuri’s two-year CDR to establish her alleged contact with Munish Moudgil, Roopa’s husband, the bench pointed out that Roopa had the liberty to produce Munish’s records and examine him as a defense witness.
Senior advocate D.R. Ravishankar, representing Roopa, argued that Sindhuri had admitted to speaking with Munish but had also claimed she did not know his phone number. He contended that only Sindhuri’s call records could reveal the truth and provide details about the calls and their locations. He further said the CDR was crucial for Roopa to defend herself, but the magistrate court dismissed her plea without explaining why it was irrelevant.
Countering this, Sindhuri’s counsel C.V. Nagesh maintained that the case stemmed from a private complaint over defamatory posts, and repeated petitions from Roopa were aimed at delaying proceedings. He added that the High Court conciliation bench had previously fined Roopa Rs 10,000 for similar tactics and even gave her an option to test her claims in court.
Nagesh stressed that the law does not permit seeking CDRs of individuals as it amounts to a violation of privacy rights. He argued that if Roopa wanted to establish communication between her husband and Sindhuri, she could rely on Munish’s call records and subject him to cross-examination instead of demanding Sindhuri’s records.
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Mangaluru: Teacher booked for allegedly beating student in school
Vittla (Dakshina Kannada): A case has been registered at the Vittla Police Station against a school teacher on charges of seriously assaulting a student with a cane at an English-medium school in Idkidu village here near Vittla in Dakshina Kannada district.
According to the complaint, the student, who attends the school regularly, had gone to school as usual. Around 2 pm, the child’s parents received a call from the school office stating that their child had allegedly disturbed other students. The school informed them that when the teacher scolded the student over the issue, the child became frightened and urinated, and the parents were asked to come and take the child home.
The parents reportedly told the school staff that no one was at home at the time and requested that the child be sent home in an autorickshaw.
After returning home, the student told the parents that a teacher identified as Istikaar had beaten him severely on the hand with a cane. The child also said that he urinated out of fear while the assault was taking place.
When the parents contacted the teacher over the phone to question him about the incident, he allegedly responded in a dismissive manner.
Following this, the parents lodged complaints with the Vittla Police Station and the Child Development Project Office, seeking justice and strict action against the teacher for allegedly assaulting the child without any valid reason.
Police have registered a case against the teacher and have taken up further investigation.
