The Karnataka High Court quashed a five-year-old criminal case against a senior citizen after discovering that the alleged incident occurred on a Sunday when court proceedings were not active, according to court records from Justice M. Nagaprasanna.
The petitioner had approached the High Court seeking to clear his record because the pending criminal proceeding blocked the renewal of his passport. During the hearings, the court examined the foundational documents of the case, including the original police charge sheet filed under Section 289 of the Indian Penal Code, which governs negligent conduct with respect to animals.
Contradictions in Police Charges and Dates
According to the complainant, an advocate, the incident took place on November 28, 2021, when he was traveling by motorcycle to attend court proceedings. The complaint stated that a pack of 10 Golden Retriever dogs attacked him in front of a coffee house, preventing him from reaching the courthouse. However, Justice M. Nagaprasanna noted from the calendar that November 28, 2021, fell on a Sunday, a day when courts are closed and no judicial proceedings are scheduled.
Advocate Vaishali Hegde, representing the petitioner, argued that the police complaint contained fundamental contradictions. While the initial complaint alleged an attack by 10 dogs, the police charge sheet subsequently filed listed only five dogs. Furthermore, the complaint claimed the advocate fled the scene immediately, whereas the police charge sheet described a different sequence of events.
Court Findings on Legal Process Abuse
The High Court criticized local law enforcement for failing to verify basic facts before registering the FIR and filing a charge sheet. According to court observations, the police conducted their site inspection nearly five months after the alleged date without verifying whether court business was actually functioning on the day in question.
Justice Nagaprasanna ruled that allowing the prosecution to proceed under such contradictory and unverified conditions would constitute an abuse of the judicial process, wasting public resources and placing an unnecessary burden on the justice system. Consequently, the High Court set aside the entire criminal proceeding against the elderly petitioner.
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