HC directs govt to form panel to probe police action on Panchamasalis

Acting on a petition filed by Sri Jagadguru Basava Jayamrityunjay Swamiji and three others against the police lathicharge on Panchamasali Lingayats who were protesting for reservation, the High Court of Karnataka has directed the state government to constitute a commission of inquiry to probe the incident in Belagavi on December 10, 2024.

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The commission has to submit its report within three months from the date of its formation. The inquiry cannot be conducted by any state agency as police officers themselves have been accused of assaulting the petitioners. Therefore, in the considered view, the entire fulcrum of the lis becomes a classic illustration where an appointment of a commission of inquiry, one man or a multi-member, under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, needs to be constituted to probe the police action against the petitioners, Justice M Nagaprasanna said in his order.