The Supreme Court on Monday (September 21, 2026) ordered fresh investigation into the 2012 brutal rape and murder of a 17-year-old near the bathing ghat on the outskirts of Dharmasthala in Karnataka while expressing shock at the botched-up probe into the incident.

A fresh investigation should be concluded within a period of three months and police report shall be filed before the court concerned, the court said.

The lone accused in the case, Santosh Rao, was acquitted by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in June 2023. The victim’s father had subsequently filed a writ petition in the top court. He had, however, died while the case was pending. The victim’s mother took up the fight for justice for their daughter.

Search for real culprits

“Injustice to a person who was falsely charged can always be compensated. However, injustice to the victim who was brutally raped and then murdered can never be compensated. Society would be failing in its duty if it does not provide justice to the victim of such a heinous crime by conducting a proper investigation and bringing the real culprits to book,” a Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva observed in a 49-page judgment.

The petitioner-mother was represented by senior advocates Shobha Gupta and Sanjay Nuli in the court.

Justice Sachdeva, who authored the judgment, said a fair investigation was “as much a part of a constitutional right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution as a fair trial, without which the trial will naturally not be fair”.

“Investigation must be fair, transparent and judicious as it is the minimum requirement of rule of law. The investigating agency cannot be permitted to conduct an investigation in a tainted and biased manner. Where non-interference of the court would ultimately result in failure of justice, the court must interfere,” the judgment stressed.

Tech-savvy SIT

The court ordered the fresh investigation and directed the State of Karnataka to constitute a tech-savvy and efficient Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a senior police officer of the State. No officer who was part of the earlier team must be included in the SIT.

The judgment directed that Santosh Rao should not be subjected to further investigation or prosecution as he had already been tried and acquitted, and was protected under Article 20(2) (double jeopardy) of the Constitution.

“Fresh investigation shall be concluded within a period of three months and the police report shall be filed before the court concerned in accordance with law, whereafter the matter shall proceed in accordance with law,” the Supreme Court ordered.