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Preetham 'murder' case: Plea for CBI probe rejected

[email protected] (DHNS)
March 14, 2012

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Bangalore, March 14: The High Court on Tuesday rejected two petitions by the Mangalore Bar Association seeking a CBI probe into the missing case and suspected murder of Mangalore-based advocate Preetham Kumar.

Another petition by the mother of the deceased on the same grounds was also rejected by the court.

The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna rejected the plea for CBI probe stating that when a 'B' report is filed in the case by CID before the jurisdictional court, it is improper for the High Court to proceed further in the matter.

However, the court made it clear that the order rejecting plea for CBI probe will have no bearing on the lower court. “The jurisdictional magistrate court can come to any conclusion based on the evidence including the nature of investigation conducted in the case,” the court ordered.

Additional Advocate General (AAG) K M Nataraj, who appeared before the Bench, submitted that the body of Preetham was fished out of the sea and a 'B' report was filed based on the DNA report and post mortem. “The case of murder has been ruled out and a 'B' report has been filed before the lower court. But the parents of the victim have refused to accept that it was the dead body of Preetham as claimed by the police,” the AAG said.

The petitions alleged that since the day Preetham went missing in 2010, the police failed to investigate the case effectively. They further stated that police inaction in the case was due to the backing of former minister Krishna Palemar. The advocate who went missing was allegedly in love with a girl who is said to be a distant relative of the former minister.

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News Network
January 23,2026

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot read only three lines from the 122-paragraph address prepared by the Congress-led state government while addressing the joint session of the Legislature on Thursday, effectively bypassing large sections critical of the BJP-led Union government.

The omitted portions of the customary Governor’s address outlined what the state government described as a “suppressive situation in economic and policy matters” under India’s federal framework. The speech also sharply criticised the Centre’s move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, commonly referred to as the VB-GRAM (G) Act.

Governor Gehlot had earlier conveyed his objection to several paragraphs that were explicitly critical of the Union government. On Thursday, he confined himself to the opening lines — “I extend a warm welcome to all of you to the joint session of the State legislature. I am extremely pleased to address this august House” — before jumping directly to the concluding sentence of the final paragraph.

He ended the address by reading the last line of paragraph 122: “Overall, my government is firmly committed to doubling the pace of the State’s economic, social and physical development. Jai Hind — Jai Karnataka.”

According to the prepared speech, the Karnataka government demanded the scrapping of the VB-GRAM (G) Act, describing it as “contractor-centric” and detrimental to rural livelihoods, and called for the full restoration of MGNREGA. The state government argued that the new law undermines decentralisation, weakens labour protections, and centralises decision-making in violation of constitutional norms.

Key points from the unread sections of the speech:

•    Karnataka facing a “suppressive” economic and policy environment within the federal system

•    Repeal of MGNREGA described as a blow to rural livelihoods

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of protecting corporate and contractor interests

•    New law alleged to weaken decentralised governance

•    Decision-making said to be imposed by the Centre without consulting states

•    Rights of Adivasis, women, backward classes and agrarian communities curtailed

•    Labourers allegedly placed under contractor control

•    States facing mounting fiscal stress due to central policies

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of enabling large-scale corruption

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