Dharmasthala mass burial case: Karnataka HC asks govt to file investigation report

Bengaluru: In an important development, the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday directed the Congress-led state government to file a detailed statement on the investigation conducted by the police department into the alleged mass burial case reported from the Hindu pilgrimage centre of Dharmasthala.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha, issued the direction following submissions by the petitioner that there were 74 unnatural deaths and that the police, who probed the cases, allegedly did not follow inquest procedures and post-mortem requirements under Section 174(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The court has scheduled the next hearing of the case for July 9.

The petitioner, Kusumavathi, the mother of Sowjanya — a teenage girl who is among the alleged victims — has challenged the SIT probe, claiming that official procedures were not properly followed when the deaths were recorded. She has sought directions from the court to the SIT to identify witnesses and hold the responsible officials accountable.

The advocate representing the state government told the court that police records related to unnatural deaths in Dharmasthala prior to 2010 were destroyed as part of a routine administrative procedure, following a government circular that permitted disposal of old records.

However, the state said that records from 2010 onwards are still available, and authorities have details of the unnatural deaths registered in Dharmasthala after that period.

The state government also argued that the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed very late, nearly 20 years after the alleged incidents, and raised questions over the delay in filing the petition.

The state further submitted that it had made efforts to recover bodily remains, but nothing substantial had emerged.

The petition filed before the High Court has sought a writ of mandamus (a court order directing a public authority to perform its duty). Through this, the petitioner has requested that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) register 74 separate First Information Reports (FIRs) — one for each of the cases mentioned in her representation submitted on October 11, 2025.

After hearing the plea, the High Court asked the state government to submit a statement explaining key facts and details of the investigations conducted by the police in connection with the multiple deaths and disappearances mentioned in the petition.

The SIT had taken over the probe into the alleged mass burial sites in July 2025.

The case came to light after an FIR was registered based on a complaint by a sanitation worker. In his complaint, he alleged that he had been instructed to bury the bodies of women and children in the temple town of Dharmasthala between 1995 and 2014.

However, the sanitation worker, known as the “unknown mask man” and identified as Chinnaiah, was later arrested by the SIT for allegedly misleading the police.

IANS