Autorickshaw driver to file defamation case against Udupi police over wrongful prosecution

An autorickshaw driver Shrinivas, alias Sheena Poojary, has said that he will file a defamation case against the Udupi police for his wrongful prosecution in a case related to the extraction and theft of laterite stones from a government land after the Karnataka High Court quashed the proceedings initiated by the Gangolli police against him.Talking to reporters in Udupi on Tuesday, Mr. Poojary said a commuter, Uday Shetty, had hired his autorickshaw on August 24, 2025, and asked him to wait in front of the Gangolli police station. After 30 minutes, a police constable approached him, asked whether he knew Shetty, and asked him to sign a document. When the constable said it was just a formality, he signed it. The police also took a copy of Mr. Poojary’s Aadhaar card.After two months, he received a call from the police asking him to collect a notice issued by the court. He collected the notice and showed it to a well-wisher, who told him that he had been named accused No. 2, while Shetty had been named accused No. 1 in a case of extraction and theft of laterite stones from government land. When he questioned the police, they allegedly told him to appear before the court and admit to the offence. The police told him that the case would end in about two sittings and that Shetty had agreed to pay the penalty and get him bail.Mr. Poojary said he took copies of the documents related to the case and filed a criminal petition before the Karnataka High Court. On August 6, Justice M. Nagaprasanna quashed the proceedings initiated by the Gangolli police against Mr. Poojary.In the judgment, the judge observed that Mr. Poojary was not arrayed as an accused while registering the complaint for the offence under Section 303 (2) (theft) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. While filing the charge sheet, the Gangolli police mentioned Mr. Poojary as accused No. 2 and Shetty as accused No. 1. This was on the basis of a voluntary statement by Shetty to the police that Mr. Poojary had loaded laterite stones drawn from government land into the vehicle.“Repeatedly, this court has sought instructions with regard to the corroboration other than what is available as voluntary statement against the petitioner (Mr. Poojary), which is not forthcoming even today. Therefore, the law being well settled that an accused cannot be drawn and continued to be prosecuted solely on the voluntary statement of the co-accused,” the judge observed.The judge allowed Mr. Poojary’s petition and quashed the proceedings in CC.No. 1572/2025 against him, which were pending before the III Additional Civil Judge and JMFC Court, Kundapur.Mr. Poojary told reporters that the police had wrongfully accused him of extraction and theft of laterite stones. He will shortly file a defamation case against the Gangolli police.In a statement on Wednesday, Udupi Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar said the High Court judge had not made any adverse remarks against the Gangolli police or the investigating officer in the judgment. Published - September 09, 2026 06:27 pm IST