Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi
Udupi, Mar 27: The Karnataka high court has granted conditional bail to Lakshmi, Shilpa, and Sundar, who were arrested in connection with the assault of a woman at Malpe port. The court observed that their arrest was conducted without providing proper reasons, rendering it illegal.
The incident occurred on March 18, when a woman from Vijayapura district was accused of stealing fish at Malpe port. She was allegedly tied to a tree and assaulted by several individuals, leading to the arrest of Lakshmi, Shilpa, and Sundar. The arrests were made under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The bail plea was heard before the single-judge bench of Justice Hemanth Chandan Gowdar. Senior High Court advocate Urmila Pullat represented the accused and argued that the arrests lacked proper justification. After reviewing the arguments, the court granted conditional bail to the accused.
This case has garnered significant attention, with various stakeholders expressing differing opinions. The victim has reportedly requested that the accused not be punished and expressed a desire to move forward without further conflict. Conversely, the Malpe Fishermen’s Association has planned protests, arguing that the arrests were unjustified.
Meanwhiel, the bail application hearing of the five accused arrested in the case was held on Thursday, March 27 in the Udupi District and Sessions Court.
Public prosecutor Jayaram Shetty filed an objection to the bail application, while senior advocate Shantaram Shetty argued for the accused. Since the high court had ordered the release of the three accused, the court ordered the hearing of the bail application related to the remaining two accused to be postponed to March 29.