New Delhi — The Supreme Court has ordered a fresh Special Investigation Team probe into the 2012 rape and murder of a 17-year-old student near Dharmasthala, Karnataka.
The victim’s parents maintained that earlier investigations by the local police, CID and CBI had wrongly prosecuted Santhosh Rao while overlooking material pointing elsewhere. Rao was acquitted in 2023 after the trial court found no evidence connecting him to the crime. The Karnataka High Court later refused a de novo investigation.
Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva said the manner in which evidence was gathered and evaluated shocked the Court’s conscience and that possible manipulation by the real offender or offenders could not be ruled out. A fair investigation is part of Article 21, and constitutional courts may order a fresh probe in exceptional cases even after trial.
Karnataka must constitute an SIT led by a senior officer and staffed by investigators skilled in modern technology. No officer from any earlier team may participate. The probe must finish within three months. Rao cannot be investigated or prosecuted again because of double-jeopardy protections, and the SIT must assess all others independently without treating the judgment as expressing any view on guilt.
