Mangaluru: The 2012 rape and murder of 17-year-old Sowjanya in Karnataka’s Ujire has returned to the spotlight after the Supreme Court on Monday ordered a fresh investigation into the case.

The court has directed that the reinvestigation be completed within three months and a report submitted before it. The order comes nearly 14 years after Sowjanya was raped and murdered in October 2012. Earlier investigations by the Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) failed to establish who was responsible for her death.

The fresh probe follows a plea by Sowjanya’s mother, Kusumavathi Gowda, who had sought a new investigation and alleged lapses in the earlier probes.

Mother sought fresh investigation

Kusumavathi had approached the Karnataka High Court in 2024 seeking a fresh CBI investigation, alleging that crucial evidence had been overlooked during the earlier investigations.

The High Court dismissed her plea on August 20, 2024. However, its observations included questions about whether someone other than Santhosh Rao, who had been arrested in the case, could have been responsible for Sowjanya’s death.

Kusumavathi subsequently approached the Supreme Court.

During proceedings, the Supreme Court had raised concerns about the manner in which the earlier CBI investigation was conducted. Reports on the proceedings said the court questioned whether the earlier investigation had adequately examined the evidence independently.

The Supreme Court has now ordered a fresh investigation and set a three-month deadline for the probe.

Santhosh Rao was acquitted in 2023

Santhosh Rao was arrested in connection with Sowjanya’s death and was later tried before a CBI special court.

The court acquitted Rao in June 2023, holding that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges beyond reasonable doubt. The acquittal left the question of who was responsible for Sowjanya’s rape and murder unresolved.

Sowjanya’s family had maintained that Rao was wrongly implicated and had alleged serious shortcomings in the investigation. They have also alleged that the actual perpetrators were not brought to justice.

The allegations made by the family remain their claims and are not findings against any identified individual.

Supreme Court gives three months for probe

The fresh investigation will now examine the case again, with the investigating team required to submit its report within three months.

Reports on the Supreme Court’s order have also indicated that officers involved in the earlier investigation would not be part of the fresh probe.

The direction marks a significant new stage in a case that has remained unresolved despite investigations by multiple agencies and the acquittal of the person previously accused.

Case returned to spotlight after mass-burial allegations

The Sowjanya case had already returned to public attention in 2025 after allegations made by a former sanitation worker associated with a prominent temple in the Dharmasthala region.

In a complaint dated June 3, the whistleblower alleged that he had been forced to bury or burn hundreds of bodies, including women and students whom he claimed had suffered sexual assault and murder. He also submitted photographs that he said showed skeletal remains.

The allegations prompted the Karnataka government to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine the mass-burial claims.

The SIT’s mandate, however, was focused on the allegations made by the whistleblower rather than reopening the 2012 Sowjanya case. Officials had maintained that the earlier case could not simply be reopened without an appropriate court direction.

The whistleblower was subsequently arrested by the SIT in connection with allegations relating to perjury. The claims concerning the alleged burials and skeletal remains have been subject to a separate investigation and should not be treated as established facts.

Activists welcome fresh investigation

Activist Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, who has campaigned for a fresh investigation into the Sowjanya case, welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision.

“We have been saying since the day we started protesting that the Dharmasthala case should be investigated and the Supreme Court should monitor that. Our 14-year-old request has now been heard. I welcome the move by the Supreme Court,” Thimarodi told India Today Digital.

The fresh probe is expected to revisit the circumstances surrounding Sowjanya’s death and examine evidence from the case afresh.

What happens next

The Supreme Court’s order does not establish who was responsible for Sowjanya’s death. Instead, it directs that the case be investigated again after concerns were raised over the earlier investigation and the subsequent acquittal.

The investigating team will now have three months to conduct the fresh probe and submit its report to the Supreme Court.

For Sowjanya’s family, the order reopens a case that has remained unresolved since 2012. The outcome of the fresh investigation will determine whether investigators are able to identify new evidence or establish the circumstances and responsibility surrounding the teenager’s rape and murder.