Four people who had earlier supported former sanitation worker CN Chinnaiah in filing a First Information Report alleging mass burials of women who were raped and murdered in Karnataka's Dharmasthala between the 1990s and the mid-2010s have now approached the Karnataka High Court seeking cancellation of the case.
Chinnaiah had made the allegations in July and was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case on charges of perjury and providing false information.
Girish Mattennavar, Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, Jayanth T, and Vittala Gowda, who had earlier supported Chinnaiah, have now filed a petition challenging the FIR (Crime No. 39/2025) registered at Dharmasthala Police Station and the notice issued to them by the SIT on October 24.
In their plea, they have argued that the notice was not physically served and was sent only through electronic means, violating Supreme Court guidelines laid down in Satendra Kumar Antil vs CBI.
They also claim they have been cooperating with the investigation and should, therefore, not face arrest or coercive action.
The petition seeks to cancel the FIR and related proceedings, terming the SIT's actions procedurally flawed and unlawful.
The High Court heard the matter on Thursday and granted an interim stay on the investigation into the case. The court also instructed that no coercive action should be taken against the petitioners until further orders.
