Wife alleges sexual assault on four-year-old daughter by husband
HC finds gaps in chargesheet, orders probe by new officer
Bengaluru (PTI): The High Court of Karnataka has ordered further investigation in a case where the husband has been accused by the wife of sexually abusing their four-year-old daughter.
The High Court found as many as nine lacunas in the charge sheet filed by the investigating officer.
It directed the Commissioner of Police to appoint a new Investigating Officer (IO) in the case who shall complete the further investigation within 10 weeks.
The wife had filed a complaint against her husband in August 2022 making "certain grave allegations." She had alleged that her husband was sexually perverted and watched pornography involving children. He allegedly took naked photos of himself with their four-year-old daughter and touched her inappropriately.
He demanded sex with the wife in the presence of the child. The husband allegedly loaded child pornography in the child's iPad and compelled her to watch them.
After her complaint, the husband was booked under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
A charge sheet was filed before the Sessions Court in October 2022 by the police after completing investigation. The wife however filed an application seeking further investigation as she found that several issues were not investigated.
Her application was rejected, forcing her to approach the High Court.
In his recent judgment, Justice M Nagaprasanna allowed the petition and directed the police to conduct further investigation. The HC noticed nine lacunas in the charge sheet filed by the police.
The HC said, "On a perusal of the charge sheet and the documents appended to the charge sheet, all the aforesaid lacunae, prima facie are correct. All the nine rungs which are in the considered view of the Court's vital piece of evidence have been deliberately let off by the Investigating Officer. If this would not form the ingredients of a shoddy investigation, I fail to understand as to what would."
Among the loopholes in the charge sheet, the HC found that while the statement of the child mentioned the name of the accused, it was not mentioned in the charge sheet.
Secondly, "the Investigating Officer has deliberately ignored incriminating material against the accused as a truncated statement forms part of the charge sheet," the HC noted.
The child's statement before the doctor was also not included in the charge sheet and the IO failed to record or conduct enquiry with the petitioner (wife) to substantiate the allegations.
The IO also failed to seize the laptop or mobile phones allegedly containing pornography nor inquired about them. The iPad was sent for FLS report which is still pending "but the charge sheet is filed. This is the sixth rung," the HC said.
The location of the use of laptop and mobile phones was also not mentioned in the charge sheet.
The IO also failed to record statements of other witnesses like maternal grandparents and other relatives about the perverted attitude of the accused-husband.
Even the report of the psychologist who had given a detailed report of the torment undergone by the child was not made part of the charge sheet.
The HC directed the trial court to wait for the further investigation.
"Till the filing of the report of further investigation, the concerned court shall not proceed further with the present charge sheet that is filed before it. On further investigation reports being filed before this court, the concerned court is at liberty to regulate its procedure and proceed further in accordance with law," the Court said.
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K'taka bypolls: Bagalkot records 43.75 per cent turnout till 1 pm, 37.17 pc in Davanagere South
Bengaluru (PTI): At least 43.75 per cent of voters in Karnataka's Bagalkot, where polling for a by-election is underway, exercised their franchise by 1 pm on Thursday.
Davanagere South recorded a turnout of 37.17 per cent, the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office said.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP is aiming to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
Samarth's father, S S Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet and in charge of Davanagere district, while his mother, Prabha Mallikarjun, is a Member of Parliament from the region.
The BJP is looking to make gains in the bypolls and energise its cadre ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. For the Congress, retaining both seats is crucial, as a loss could be seen as a negative verdict on the performance of the Siddaramaiah-led government.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, H Y Meti defeated BJP's Charantimath by a margin of 5,878 votes in Bagalkot, while Shivashankarappa defeated BJP's B G Ajay Kumar by 27,888 votes in Davanagere South.
