chinnaiah | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The Additional Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate First Class, Belthangady, on Saturday asked the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Dharmasthala mass burials case to submit its final report regarding the perjury and offenses alleged against Chinnaiah and other accused persons to take cognizance of the offenses mentioned in the report submitted on November 20.
Additional Civil Judge and First Class Judicial Magistrate, Belthangady, TH Vijayendra, said in the order that the SIT had submitted a 3,900-page report under Section 215 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Surakasha Sanhita on November 20, when the complainant Chinnaih was in judicial custody during the SIT’s reporting and there was a legal requirement to submit the SIT report.90 The court also noted the SIT’s observation in the report that the remaining accused, Mahesh Shetty Thimarody, Girish Mattennavar, T. Jayanth, Vittal Gowda and Sujatha Bhat, did not cooperate in the investigation.
Therefore, at this stage, the court said it will not pass an order on the report submitted by the SIT on November 20. The court asked the SIT to file a final report in the matter.
On December 31, Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara temple spokesperson K. Parshwanath Jain filed an application seeking the court’s permission to intervene in the proceedings as the temple was the victim of the case.
On Saturday, activists Jayanth, Mattennavar and other accused filed an application seeking a court hearing before taking cognizance of the SIT report. Later, however, the legal representative of the applicants withdrew the same request.
Mr. Vijayendra gave plaintiff Divyaraj Hegde time to file an objection against the temple’s application and sent it till January 23. As the magistrate is about to undergo regular judicial training, the case will be presented to another civil magistrate and JMFC, Bantwal, on January 23, who will have another charge at the Belthangady court.
Published – 03 Jan 2026 20:24 IST
