Bengaluru (IANS) The Karnataka High Court on Sunday evening stayed the tabling of the CID’s interim report on the mysterious death of IAS officer D.K. Ravi by the state government in the legislature on Monday till the inquiry was completed.
At a special hearing at his residence here, Justice Adbul Nazeer directed the state government and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) not to make statements on the interim report or table it in the legislative assembly.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had decided to table the CID’s interim report in the assembly on Monday and share with lawmakers the findings of the investigation into Ravi’s death, which police prime facie said was a case of suicide.
The order was passed on an emergency writ petition filed by the husband of a woman IAS officer whom Ravi had reportedly called many times and sent messages to her mobile phone before allegedly hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his apartment here on March 16.
Passing the order under Article 226 of the Constitution, the judge also served an emergency notice to state Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee, the CID and the director general of police (DGP) to appear in his court on Monday afternoon for further hearing on the petition.
The writ petition against making the inconclusive report public was moved to prevent damage to the reputation of the lady officer and her family.
“We have told the court that when the forensic science lab (FSL) findings in the case had not reached the CID, it was not right to make public any report on it, which may tarnish the image of the petitioner’s wife,” the petitioner’s counsel said in a statement.
There is also a Supreme Court ruling against making interim reports public in such sensitive cases before the investigation was completed.
The CID probe was ordered on March 17, a day after 36-year-old Ravi was found dead in his apartment, which police termed a case of suicide for “personal reasons”.
The 2009 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer was additional commissioner in the commercial tax department in the city since December 2014 after being transferred from Kolar district, about 100 km away, where he as the as deputy commissioner had built a reputation of being an upright officer for reining in the sand and land mafias.
Demanding a CBI probe into Ravi’s death, lawmakers of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal-Secular disrupted proceedings in both the legislative assembly and the legislative council (upper house) since March 17 and forced their adjournment till March 23.
Asserting that his government was not trying to protect anyone or hide anything from the public, Siddaramaiah said as the case was registered under a specific section pertaining to suicide and not under murder or homicide, the CID was told to probe it for the truth to come out early.
“We are not going to protect anybody nor hide anything because we are also keen that the truth about Ravi’s death should come for the sake of justice,” Siddaramaiah said.
Sharing the concern of Ravi’s family, especially his parents, who also staged a protest at the state secretariat on March 18 demanding a CBI probe into their son’s death, the chief minister said justice would be done at any cost.
“The state government will do its best to suitably compensate the family for the loss of Ravi, a bright officer, in mysterious circumstances,” he added.
Bengaluru: IAS officer death: HC restrains govt from making public info on probe
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka High Court, in an emergent notice served to the state government, today restrained it from publishing any interim report or making any public statement pertaining to investigation being conducted into the “unnatural death” of IAS officer D K Ravi.
“The respondents are restrained from making or publishing any interim report or making any public statement pertaining to investigation being conducted with regard the unnatural death of D K Ravi, an IAS Officer, pending disposal of this writ petition,” Justice Abdul Nazeer said at a special hearing of a petition on the matter in his residence.
Sudhir Reddy, in a petition, had sought a restraint on publication of any interim report or making any public statement pertaining to the probe being conducted by the government through its investigating agency – CID.
The respondents are the government represented by Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee. Additional Chief Secretary (Home), DGP and IGP Omprakash and CID, investigating the death of the officer under mysterious circumstances.
However, Justice Nazeer clarified that this order will not affect the investigation.
“This, however will not prevent the respondents from continuing with the investigation,” he said.
The Judge also summoned the respondents to appear before the court tomorrow.
Ravi was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his flat in Bengaluru on March 16, with police suspecting it to be prima facie a case of suicide.
Public anger has been escalating with demand for a CBI probe into the death of 35-year old Ravi, whose family is also insisting on a CBI probe suspecting foul play.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has also asked Siddaramaiah to order a CBI probe, according to senior leader Digvijay Singh.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has maintained that his government had nothing to hide and was not protecting anybody.
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