Karnataka HC pauses police action against lawyer in Ananya case
The Karnataka High Court has paused police action against a lawyer representing Sujatha Bhatt, whose daughter Ananya Bhatt disappeared in Dharmasthala in 2003.
The lawyer was recently named in an FIR for allegedly spreading false information about the Special Investigation Team (SIT) looking into reports of mass burials.
For now, the court says no coercive action can be taken against the lawyer until at least October 8, citing legal protections for advocates under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution and Section 132 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, which includes the privacy of communications between advocates and clients.
The Dharmasthala mass burial case
The SIT started digging after a former sanitation worker, CN Chinnaiah, claimed he was forced to bury unidentified bodies in Dharmasthala between 1995 and 2014.
So far, only two sites have turned up any remains—and Chinnaiah himself was later arrested for lying and presenting fake evidence.
Families of those who went missing are still pushing hard for answers and want deeper investigations, including into an old double murder case from 2012.
Meanwhile, a Kerala-based YouTuber has shown up several times to help with the inquiry and says he's fully cooperating.