LATEST JUGDEMENT KAVITHA LANKESH VERSUS STATE OF KARNATAKA & ORS. Appeal (Crl.), of 2021

JUDGEMENT OVERVIEW

COURT :  Supreme Court of India (Full Bench (FB)- Three Judge)

JUDGEMENT NAME : KAVITHA LANKESH VERSUS STATE OF KARNATAKA & ORS. Appeal (Crl.), of 2021

 

JUDGEMENT DATE : Oct 21, 2021

RELATED SECTIONS : INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860

Section 302 – Punishment for murder

IMPORTANT PARAGRAPH :

A.M. KHANWILKAR, J.

  1. These appeals emanate from the judgment and order dated

22.04.2021 passed by the High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru in

Writ Petition No.9717 of 2019 (GM­RES), whereby the High Court

partly allowed the writ petition and quashed the order bearing

No.CRM(1)/KCOCA/01/2018 dated 14.08.2018 issued by the

Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City according prior approval to

invoke offences under Section 3 of the Karnataka Control of

Organised Crimes Act, 2001 against Mohan Nayak.N (private respondent herein)

being crime registered with Rajarajeshwari Nagar Police Station as

FIR No.221/2017 dated 05.09.2017 and to enquire into the same.

 

  1. Shorn of unnecessary details, be it noted that the present

appeals pertain to the incident which had occurred on 05.09.2017

in which one Gauri Lankesh, who was a leading journalist, was

shot dead by certain unknown assailants near her house at

Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bengaluru. Her sister­ Kavitha Lankesh

(appellant herein) rushed to the spot and after seeing her sister in

a precarious condition, immediately lodged a complaint with the

Rajarajeshwari Nagar Police Station, which came to be registered

for offences punishable under Section 302 of the IPC and Section

25 of the Arms Act, 1959 being FIR No.221/2017 dated 05.09.2017.

The investigation of the crime was thereafter

entrusted to the Special Investigating Team on 06.09.2017.

 

  1. In the course of investigation, a preliminary chargesheet came

to be filed against the concerned accused on 29.05.2018. The

crime was then committed to the City Civil and Sessions Judge as

CC No.14578 of 2018. The Investigating Officer had sought

permission of the Magistrate to file an additional chargesheet

under Section 173(8) of the Criminal Procedure Code as the

investigation was still underway. The private respondent ­Mohan

Nayak. N came to be arrested on 18.07.2018 in connection with the

stated crime. The further investigation revealed that the accused

persons in Special CC No.872 of 2018 were involved in organized

crime as a syndicate which attracted the provisions of Section 3 of

the 2000 Act. The SIT submitted that report to the Chief

Investigating Officer, who then sought approval of the

Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City vide proposal dated

07.08.2018, to invoke Section 3 of the 2000 Act concerning

organized crime.

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KAVITHA LANKESH