Siddaramaiah stated that he had forwarded the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and as a lawyer, he believed it should be appealed against in the High Court.
Addressing the media at the Mangaluru International Airport, during his visit to Udupi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that as a lawyer he believed the Sowjanya verdict should be appealed against in the High Court. However, he clarified that he has not yet read the full judgment copy but would explore the possibility of an appeal if deemed appropriate.
The Sowjanya case dates back to October 9, 2012, when Sowjanya, a second-year pre-university student at Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College in Ujire, went missing. Her body was discovered the next day in a deserted area near the Nethravathi River, with her hands bound to a tree using her own shawl.
After an extensive 11-year investigation, a Bengaluru court acquitted the sole accused Santhosh Rao of all charges on June 16, 2023. The court raised concerns about the credibility of the evidence presented in the case, stating that it appeared to have been planted or ignored. Furthermore the court criticised the flawed investigation process and alleged tampering of medical reports. The case against Santhosh was primarily built on his confession to the police, the recovery of his clothes, and injury marks, but the court found these pieces of evidence insufficient to implicate him conclusively.
Throughout the lengthy legal process, Sowjanya's family consistently maintained that Santhosh had been framed in the case and claimed that the investigation was not conducted thoroughly. Activists supporting the family also echoed these sentiments, raising questions about potential patronage and protection of the real culprits by state government officials.
The recent court verdict in the Sowjanya case has sparked significant public interest and scrutiny. CM Siddaramaiah's statement about considering a possible appeal in the High Court has further added to the curiosity surrounding the case.
Editor’s Note: TNM has used Sowjanya’s name with written consent from her mother.
#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }
/* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */
Sign up to get Daily Wrap in your inbox
* indicates required
Email Address *
First Name
(function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true);