Belagavi Stripping Parade Case| Karnataka HC Directs Trial Court To Complete Proceedings Expeditiously Within A Year
The Karnataka High Court directed the trial court to complete the trial, in the Belagavi stripping naked incident, expeditiously within one year.
The High Court initiated the present suo moto proceedings based upon a news article in December 2023, in which an incident of a woman beaten up, paraded naked and tied to a pole after she eloped with another man was published.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice N.V. Anjaria and Justice Krishna S Dixit observed, “6. While the Court is satisfied with the aforesaid measures for payment of compensation and allotment of the land to the victim, the following further directions are issued in the interest of justice…The trial against the accused persons shall be completed by the competent Court where it is pending, expeditiously within an outer limit of one year…The Registry of this Court shall issue intimation to the Competent Court where the criminal case is pending in this regard.”
Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty and Add. Advocate General Prathima Honnapura appeared for the Respondent.
The Advocate General submitted that the victim was allotted two acres of land and compensation of Rs. Five Lacs. Consequently, the Court did not see any reason to continue the suo moto proceedings, as the victim was duly compensated.
The Court further directed, “The Welfare Officer of the Women and Child Welfare Department functioning at the local level shall pay visit to the place of the victim where she is resides with her husband every two months to ascertain the status of life and well-being of the victim…The welfare officer shall further ensure that the victim and her family members stay with comfort of essential and basic life amenities and lead life satisfactorily with availability of such basic necessities to live the life… The welfare officer shall submit the report upon each such visit, to the District Superintendent of Police who shall in turn, supervise.”
The Court apprised that the unfortunate incident had happened in Belagavi District where an innocent woman had to undergo the trauma and inhuman treatment of outraging her modesty by the culprits. It was directed that the dignity of the victim shall be maintained by ensuring that her identity is not disclosed or revealed any further. Expressing serious concern, the Court directed the Advocate General to submit the status report of the incident.
Accordingly, the writ petition was disposed of with the aforesaid directions.
Cause Title: High Court of Karnataka v. State of Karnataka and Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2024:KHC:15016-DB)
Appearances:
Respondent: Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty, Additional Advocate General Prathima Honnapura and AGA Niloufer Akbar.