SC expunges HC remarks in Udupi businessman Bhaskar Shetty murder case

News Network
August 9, 2022

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Udupi, Aug 9: The Supreme Court of India has disapproved categorically the practice of considering evidence while granting bail, or suspending a sentence, while expunging the observations made by the Karnataka High Court while granting bail to the woman who was convicted of murdering her husband, Bhaskar Shetty, a businessman from Udupi. 

The murder, when it came to light, had made headlines across the country.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and P S Narasimha agreed with the contention, made by advocate Sanjay M Nuli on behalf of the victim’s mother Gulabi Shetty, that the High Court went into the issues of the validity of the ‘Will’, which was completely unrelated to the proceedings before it.

“The High Court has grossly erred in granting suspension of sentence in such a serious crime,” Nuli argued, contending that the high court went on to decide the matter as if it was deciding an appeal.

Concurring with his contention, the bench said: “We are in full agreement with the counsel for the petitioner that the High Court has totally erred in making an elaborate discussion of the evidence. This Court has time and again observed that courts should avoid elaborate appreciation of the evidence at the stage of grant of bail.”

The bench also observed that it was “totally unwarranted” of the high court “to have made a detailed elaboration of an evidence” while granting bail.

“We, therefore, expunge all the observations made by the High Court wherever it has re-appreciated the evidence in detail and clarify that the order would be construed as a prima facie consideration of the evidence for grant of suspension of sentence,” the bench said.

The apex court, however, also said it did not find anything wrong in allowing the application filed by the convict Rajeshwari Shetty, for suspension of her sentence, as the case was based on circumstantial evidence.

The top court also directed the high court's bench, which would hear the appeal on merits, not to take into consideration any of the observations the lower court made in its order on December 23, 2021.

It also requested the high court to expedite the hearing of the appeal.

“In case the petitioner does not cooperate with expeditious disposal of the matter, the High Court would be at liberty to take appropriate steps,” the Supreme Court ruled.

The trial court, on June 8, 2021, had convicted the victim’s wife Rajeshwari, their son, and the wife's alleged paramour for murdering Bhaskar Shetty, who ran a business in Saudi Arabia and owned a hotel in Udupi, and burning his body in a “homa kund” in 2016, and sentenced the three to life imprisonment.

The prosecution claimed that Rajeshwari, along with her 20-year-old son Navneet, threw chili powder into her husband’s eyes and assaulted him with a rod. Thereafter, the two tied the victim’s hands and feet, and poisoned him. Later, they carried the body to another location and burnt it by organising a ‘yagna’. To further destroy the evidence, they threw the bones and remains into a river.

Bhaskar suspected Rajeshwari of adultery and had lodged a police complaint with Manipal police station on July 9, 2016; he was murdered on July 28. The police unearthed the murder while acting upon a missing person’s complaint filed by Gulabi.

The prosecution relied upon a DNA report to conclude the recovered body parts were that of the complainant’s son.

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News Network
March 17,2024

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Beltangady, Mar 17: A three-year-old boy was crushed to death under the wheels of an auto-rickshaw in front of his house at Panakaje Mundadi in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada. 

The gut-wrenching tragedy took place on Saturday, March 16 morning when the boy ran out of home to the road. 

The victim has been identified as Kaushik, the son of Chandrashekhar and Usha couple. Their home is situated adjacent to the main road at Panakaje.

It is learnt that the auto-rickshaw failed to notice the boy who suddenly darted towards the road and hit him. 

Even though the injured boy was rushed to a private hospital in Ujire and later to Mangaluru, he breathed his last. 

The Beltangady traffic police have registered a case in connection with the incident.

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News Network
March 15,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 15: Work from home to using toilets in malls, residents of India's 'Silicon Valley' Bengaluru are exploring all options to combat the unprecedented water crisis. People across various neighbourhoods have been forced to order food from restaurants and take bath on alternate days due to the water scarcity.

Even those in high-rise apartments equipped with water harvesting systems now find themselves reliant on water tankers for basic needs, leading to stringent usage restrictions.

Eateries are mulling over use of disposable cups, glasses and plates to avoid excess use of water.

Educational institutions are also feeling the pinch. Recently, a coaching centre in the city asked its students to attend classes online due to an 'emergency' for a week. Similarly, a school on Bannerghatta Road was also closed, asking students to attend classes online just like they did during the Covid pandemic.

Residents have come with up new methods to try and conserve water. With temperature rising, it is difficult to avoid a daily shower but they are left with no option but to take bath on alternative days, said Sujatha, a resident of KR Puram.

"What to do? Clean vessels, cook food, wash clothes....so, we have started using paper plates, that way we have cut down on our water usage. And we order food twice a week. We are using the washing machine only once in a week now," she said.

Some others have resorted to visiting a mall to take a shower or use the toilet facilities.

Lakshmi V, an IT professional living in Singasandra, has been requesting her firm to allow WFH option so that she and her family can temporarily shift to her native place in Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu until the situation becomes better.

"If the situation persists, we are thinking of seeking a work from home option. We are planning to move to our native place in Tamil Nadu temporarily till rain arrives here," she said.

Bengaluru primarily gets its water supply from two sources - Cauvery river and groundwater. For most non-drinking uses, recycled water processed by sewage treatment plants is used. With no rain for a while now, the primary sources have been stretched to their limits. Bengaluru needs 2,600-2,800 million litres of water daily, and the current supply is half of what's required. The result is a daily struggle for the city's residents.

The brunt is also being borne by people living in the outskirts of Bengaluru, especially in 110 villages that were merged with the city in 2007.

The crisis has also turned into a political battle between the state's ruling Congress government and the opposition BJP with Lok Sabha just weeks away. While the BJP has held several protests blaming the government, the Congress has accused the BJP-ruled federal government of not providing financial assistance to drought-hit Karnataka.

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News Network
March 13,2024

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Udupi, Mar 13: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah today said that Congress in coastal region will further strengthen thanks to the entry of former chairman of Commission for Backward Classes Jayaprakash Hegde, and former MLA Sukumar Shetty. 

He was responding to the queries of media persons after his arrival at the helipad in Udupi to take part in district-level convention of scheme beneficiaries.

“Hegde was in Congress and had served as MP. With Hegde returning back, the Congress will get more strength in the coastal districts,” he said.

On Hegde’s candidature for Udupi-Chikmagaluru Lok Sabha constituency, the CM said that the Congress high command will decide on the candidate.

On CAA

Siddaramaiah questioned why it took the Centre more than four years to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and termed the announcement as a political gimmick ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

 “Why were they silent all these years on implementing the CAA. With the fear of losing the upcoming Lok Sabha election, the BJP is engaged in all types of gimmick,” he said.

The Centre on Monday announced the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, a move that comes four years after the contentious law was passed. This paves the way for citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Siddaramaiah also said his government has not yet discussed the issue of implementation of the CAA in the State, and the Cabinet will take a call on it. “We are yet to read it. We will take a decision after going through it and discuss it in the cabinet tomorrow," CM said.

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