Justice Suraj Govindaraj finds the accused's bias fears reasonable because the complainant seminary requested the prosecutor's appointment and paid his legal fees.
The Karnataka High Court quashed the appointment of Sadashiva Murthy as Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) in a case concerning the murder of a Christian priest, Bar & Bench reported. The court's August 5 ruling was delivered by Justice Suraj Govindaraj in Father Elias Daniel & Ors v Department of Internal Administration (Police Services).
The court found the appointment was made at the request of the complainant, a seminary, and noted that the seminary was paying Murthy's legal fees. It held that the accused's apprehension of bias was reasonable. LiveLaw reported that the court held the State may appoint an SPP on its own where a case needs special knowledge, but cannot do so at the complainant's specific request, as this goes against the principle of fairness required in a criminal trial.
The court said it cast no doubt on the SPP's integrity and was guided by the rule that justice must be seen to be done. It relied on the Supreme Court's ruling in Mukul Dalal v Union of India. It also noted that the re-appointment notification contained no reasons, which it said made the decision arbitrary.
The case concerns the 2013 murder of Father Daniel KJ, a rector at Saint Peter's Pontifical Seminary, according to Bar & Bench. Murthy was first appointed in 2014 at the seminary's request and removed in 2020 following a letter objecting to his appointment. It later came to light that one of the accused had sent the letter. In 2022 the Archbishop of Bengaluru urged the State to re-appoint him; the request was initially rejected, and he was re-appointed in 2023. The seminary was directed to pay his fees and agreed to do so.
