The Karnataka High Court has directed a trial court in Dharwad to consider afresh, an application filed by a witness in a murder case to hold an investigation against a former Minister and two serving police officers for allegedly threatening and forcing him to give evidence “in favour” of the accused persons.
Justice H.P. Sandesh passed the order at the Dharwad Bench of the High Court while allowing an appeal filed by Gurunathgouda, who is a witness in the case of murder of his brother, Yogeshgouda Goudar, who was a member of the Dharwad Zilla Panchayat, and was hacked to death in June 2016. Mr. Gurunathgouda had filed the application before the Fourth Additional District and Sessions judge, Dharwad, complaining that Vinay Kulkarni, former Minister, and Tulajappa Sulfi and Chandrashekhar, both Deputy Superintendents of Police, had threatened him to give evidence “in favour of the accused”, and had sought a direction to the jurisdictional magistrate to hold an investigation against the three persons.
He had filed the application before the trial court after his representation to the Superintendent of Police on the threat did not yield any result. But the trial court on January 9, 2019, dismissed his application.
However, the High Court pointed out that the trial court should have taken the allegations made by the witness seriously as it was a case of “threatening a witness” in a criminal case under trial when it was the duty of the courts to ensure protection to the witnesses.
Meanwhile, the court rejected a petition filed by the parents of Yogeshgouda seeking a probe by the CBI while complaining that the local police did not probe the role of Mr. Kulkarni, who was a Minister when their son, who belonged to a rival political party, was killed.
The court said it was not a fit case as the trial of the case was on the verge of completion.
