‘Leave the cows’ investigation, go for real crimes’ : Karnataka High Court pulls up state police
Bengaluru, April 27 (IANS) Taking the state police to task over poor handling of cases, the Karnataka High Court on Monday asked it to leave aside the “cows’ investigation” and focus on real crimes.
The case involved allegations against four members of a family, who were booked last month in connection with two missing cows.
The petitioners approached the High Court seeking the quashing of the FIR, arguing that the case was baseless and amounted to harassment.
A bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna made the strong observations while hearing the petition filed by Mangalamma and others.
He remarked that the police often fail to act promptly in serious criminal matters, while showing undue enthusiasm in minor cases.
Questioning the rationale behind registering a criminal case in 2026 for an incident in which two cows reportedly went missing in 2024, he pulled up the state police for prioritising trivial cases over serious offences.
“You leave the cows’ investigation. Go behind the real crimes. Why did you register this crime?” Justice Nagaprasanna asked the state’s counsel during the hearing.
He further criticised the disparity in police response, noting that complainants in serious cases are often forced to visit police stations repeatedly to get their complaints registered. In contrast, a case involving missing cattle from two years ago was promptly converted into a criminal proceeding.
“Real crimes, you don’t register. They have to knock on the police station’s door a hundred times. But for two cows missing two years ago, you register a crime,” he said.
After examining the matter, the court held that continuing the investigation would amount to an abuse of the legal process.
Justice Nagaprasanna pointed out that implicating an entire family after such a long delay, without substantial grounds, raises serious concerns about the misuse of law enforcement mechanisms.
“In 2024, two cows go missing. The entire family is roped into a criminal case in 2026 because the cows were not traced. If this is permitted, it would clearly amount to an abuse of the process of law,” the court stated, subsequently passing an interim order staying further investigation in the case to provide relief to the petitioners while the matter remains under consideration.
–IANS
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