K'taka HC dismisses former Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde’s plea to quash case of assaulting doctor
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a petition filed by former Union Minister and BJP leader Anantkumar Hegde seeking the quashing of a criminal case registered against him for allegedly assaulting a doctor in Uttara Kannada district. With the dismissal of his plea, the interim stay on trial proceedings has also been lifted, paving the way for the case to move forward.
The matter came up before Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav on Thursday. The petition had challenged an FIR registered suo motu by the New Market Police Station in Sirsi. When the case was called for hearing, no one appeared on behalf of Hegde. Justice Yadav reportedly remarked, “If no one appears, I will dismiss the petition.”
Additional Government Pleader B.N. Jagadeesh informed the court that although the government had been directed to be furnished with a copy of the petition, the same had not been provided. Consequently, the court dismissed the petition.
The interim order staying the investigation was originally granted on September 20, 2017, and was extended several times thereafter. The last extension was granted on August 29, 2024, when Justice M. Nagaprasanna’s bench gave the petitioner a “final opportunity.” Despite repeated adjournments, neither Hegde nor his counsel appeared in subsequent hearings, including on March 6, April 7, and July 30, 2025. The court noted a consistent lack of diligence and, therefore, dismissed the petition.
The case dates back to January 2, 2017, when Hegde’s mother, Lalitha Hegde, was taken to TSS Hospital in Sirsi by his brother Eshwar Esale. Dr. Madhukeshwar Hegde, the attending physician, diagnosed a fracture in her left thigh joint and recommended surgery. Eshwar reportedly left to consult family doctors but did not return for over half an hour.
Later that night, when Anantkumar and Eshwar returned, they allegedly called Dr. Madhukeshwar back to the hospital and assaulted him. Hospital staff members Balachandra Bhat and Rahul Mashalekar were also allegedly manhandled by Eshwar. Although the staff did not initially file a complaint, the incident was reported in the media.
Following the review of CCTV footage, police officer Raghu Kanade lodged a complaint on January 5, 2017, leading to the registration of an FIR against Anantkumar Hegde and his brother under relevant sections of the IPC (506, 341, 34, 323) and the Karnataka Prohibition of Violence Against Medicare Service Personnel and Damage to Property in Medicare Service Institutions Act (Section 4).
Hegde subsequently approached the High Court seeking to quash the proceedings, which has now been dismissed after years of delay and repeated non-appearance by the petitioner’s side.
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Kasaragod: District Collector’s office receives bomb threat from Ukraine
Kasaragod: Security was stepped up at the Kasaragod District Collector’s office after an email warning of a bomb threat was received on Friday evening.
Officials said the message prompted an immediate response from the police, who alerted senior officers and rushed security teams to the spot. The bomb disposal squad and dog squad were also pressed into service.
A detailed search was carried out inside the Collector’s office and in the surrounding premises. Police later confirmed that no explosives or suspicious items were found during the operation.
Preliminary investigation showed that the threat email originated from Ukraine. Police have begun efforts to trace the sender and verify the source of the message.
