High Court quashes transfer of undertrial from Kalaburagi

The High Court of Karnataka has set aside a lower court order transferring Rudragouda Patil (R.D. Patil), a prime accused in the Police Sub-Inspector recruitment scam, from Kalaburagi Central Prison to Mysuru Prison.

Following the order, R.D. Patil is set to be shifted back to Kalaburagi prison.

The Kalaburagi Principal District and Sessions Court, on January 27, permitted his transfer citing security reasons.

Challenging this, R.D. Patil’s wife, Shobha, filed a writ petition before the High Court.

Hearing the petition, a Bench headed by Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty observed that shifting an undertrial prisoner without providing an opportunity to raise objections or be heard amounts to a violation of the principles of natural justice.

The court also expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which the transfer was ordered.

It noted that the use of vague grounds such as security reasons without proper justification and the lack of application of judicial mind by the District Judge are not reasonable.

While government counsel argued that the transfer was necessitated on security grounds, it was conceded that the prisoner was not allowed to present his case.

In view of this, the High Court directed that R.D. Patil be immediately shifted back to Kalaburagi prison from Mysuru.