Mangaluru: The public prosecutor was, on Sunday, granted sanction by Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate S Sasikanth Senthil to appeal before the District Sessions Court, against the order to acquit those accused of being involved in the infamous pub attack of 2009.
The public prosecutor of the Second Judicial Magistrate First Class had written to the DC to seek sanction for filing an appeal against the order of Second Judicial Magistrate First Class Manjunatha R which was passed on March 12, acquitting 26 of the 30 arrested in connection with the case, one of the arrested being Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik.
The request for the sanction was scrutinised by the Magesterial division of the DC’s office, following which it was recommended to DC Senthil, who cleared the file, as reported by the Hindu.
In the event that a favourable order is passed in the appeal by the District and Sessions Court, the case will see a fresh trial by the Magistrate.
The absence of proper witnesses at the trial is what dealt a major blow to the prosecutor’s case the first time around. The Magistrate had noted that the absence of the women who were attacked was “fatal to the prosecution” as it creates doubt about the involvement of the accused. The Magistrate also pointed out several other lapses in the investigation.
In the meanwhile, the Mangaluru Police Commissioner has received a letter from the Director-General and Inspector-General of Police Neelamani S. Raju inquiring about the alleged lapes in the investigation and asking him to take action if need be.
