Now Reading: Karnataka high court quashes cow theft case, slams police probe
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Karnataka high court quashes cow theft case, slams police probe
Karnataka high court has quashed a cow theft case, tearing into police for registering it without basic verification. Justice M Nagaprasanna said the case was a 'classic illustration' of the criminal justice…
The Story in Brief
Karnataka high court has quashed a cow theft case, tearing into police for registering it without basic verification. Justice M Nagaprasanna said the case was a 'classic illustration' of the criminal justice system being misused. The FIR was filed nearly two years after the alleged theft, based on a complainant who was told by a third party that the accused had sold the missing cattle.
The court noted that the complainant could not even say with certainty that the cows found after two years were his. Police admitted they were duty-bound to register a cognisable offence, but the judge said that did not absolve them of conducting the most rudimentary inquiry. Proceedings against Mangalamma and her family were set aside.
The Indian Opinion
The usual chorus of 'police are overworked' or 'courts are too soft on accused' misses the point here. Justice Nagaprasanna found that police registered a case without even asking the complainant how he identified the cows two years later, or checking for ownership marks. That is not overwork; it is negligence. If investigating agencies skip basic verification, the criminal process becomes a weapon of harassment. The real test is whether police in Channapatna and elsewhere will now insist on minimum proof before filing FIRs based on delayed, hearsay complaints.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
