The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by the father of the woman embroiled in the Jarkiholi CD scandal alleging that his daughter’s statement was recorded “under pressure, influence, and coercion” and it was not of “her free will and volition”.
Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty passed the order while accepting the arguments made on behalf of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that the woman had already made a statement before a Division Bench last month stating that she was in a safe place and was not under anyone’s control.
Contending that the woman had stated before the magistrate that she had recorded her statement without any coercion, P. Prasanna Kumar, special public prosecutor of the SIT, has also contended that the evidential value of her statement recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure could be examined during the trial of the case. It was also contended on behalf of the SIT that the woman’s father had no locus standi to challenge her statement, recorded voluntarily under the provisions of the Cr.PC.
