Not making any report public, Karnataka tells HC

The State government on Tuesday told the High Court of Karnataka that the question of making any report or publishing any statement pertaining to the death of IAS officer D.K. Ravi by its authorities would not arise now as the case had been transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Additional Advocate-General A.S. Ponnanna made this statement during the hearing of a petition filed by Sudhir Reddy, husband of a woman IAS officer who is Ravi’s batchmate.

This submission was made in response to a query by Justice S. Abdul Nazeer, who is hearing the petition, on whether the petition could be disposed of in view of the case being transferred to the CBI.

However, Senior Counsel Sajan Poovayya, appearing for the petitioner, sought time till April 9 to submit the petitioner’s view on the court’s query about disposing of the petition. Earlier, Mr. Poovayya cited two judgments of the Karnataka and the Kerala High Courts, in which the courts had ruled that the police cannot disclose information related to probe prior to the completion of investigation.

This was in response to the government’s claim that there was no bar on disclosing probe details in public interest as the State, in Ravi’s case, had to answer many allegations levelled against it.

‘Not sensitive’

On the one hand, Mr. Poovayya argued, the State said it was committed to protecting the dignity of the woman IAS officer, but on the other, it had disclosed the contents of her voluntary statement, given to the Criminal Investigation Department, to the High Court when she was not even an accused in the case and moreover, when the probe was not complete.

“Was it not violation of the right to personal liberty of the petitioner and his wife,” he asked.