The Supreme Court has ordered a reinvestigation into the 2012 rape and murder of 17-year-old Sowjanya near Ujire in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district. The September 21, 2026 order comes almost 14 years after the crime and three years after a special CBI court acquitted Santhosh Rao, the only person prosecuted in the case.
The court directed authorities to file a compliance report within three months explaining the steps taken. The order follows a petition from Sowjanya's mother, Kusumavathi, who argued that important evidence and possible leads were not properly examined by the earlier police, CID and CBI investigations.
Who was Sowjanya?
Sowjanya was a 17-year-old second-year Pre-University student at SDM College in Ujire. She lived with her family near Dharmasthala and travelled to college by bus.
On October 9, 2012, she attended college and returned by bus in the afternoon. Witnesses said she got down near the Netravati bathing ghat at about 4.15 pm and began walking towards her home. She never reached home.
What happened to Sowjanya?
When Sowjanya did not return, her father, Chandappa Gowda, reported her missing to Belthangady police. Her family and local residents searched the surrounding area that evening.
On October 10, 2012, a search party found her body in a wooded area at Mannasanka. The postmortem and medical evidence established that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Police added rape and murder provisions to the case.
The crime caused anger across coastal Karnataka. Sowjanya's family and several local residents questioned the early investigation and alleged that the real offenders had not been identified.
Why was Santhosh Rao arrested?
Police detained Santhosh Rao after he was found near Bahubali Betta on October 11, 2012. Investigators accused him of sexually assaulting and murdering Sowjanya.
The prosecution relied mainly on circumstantial evidence. It cited his alleged disclosure statement, clothes recovered during the investigation, injuries found during his medical examination and a forensic psychological assessment.
Sowjanya's family consistently said Santhosh was not the real offender. They alleged that he had been wrongly implicated and asked investigators to examine other possible suspects. Those allegations did not establish the guilt of any other person, but they remained central to the family's demand for a fresh investigation.
Police, CID and CBI investigations
Belthangady police handled the case first. The Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department later took over the investigation. Continued protests and demands from the family and local community led the Karnataka government to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The CBI retained Santhosh Rao as the accused. A special court framed charges against him in September 2016 under the provisions covering rape and murder.
The case then moved through a long trial. The prosecution examined 35 witnesses and submitted documents, forensic reports and material objects. Santhosh spent about six years in custody during the proceedings.
Why did the CBI court acquit Santhosh Rao?
On June 16, 2023, the special CBI court in Bengaluru acquitted Santhosh Rao. It held that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt and that the circumstantial evidence did not connect him to the crime.
The courts identified several serious weaknesses in the prosecution case:
- No witness saw Sowjanya with Santhosh before she disappeared.
- No biological material belonging to Sowjanya was found on Santhosh's clothes.
- Santhosh's blood or tissue was not detected in Sowjanya's nail samples.
- Soil found on Sowjanya's clothes and swab was not found on Santhosh's clothes.
- The vaginal swab could not produce a successful DNA result because it had not been properly preserved.
- The articles recovered through the alleged disclosure did not belong to Sowjanya.
- Investigators failed to collect important physical clues from the scene.
The trial court said the case was fit to be placed before an acquittal committee so that responsibility could be examined for investigative failures. The acquittal established that the evidence did not prove Santhosh committed the crime. It did not solve Sowjanya's murder.
What did the Karnataka High Court decide?
The CBI appealed against Santhosh Rao's acquittal. On August 30, 2024, the Karnataka High Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the trial court's decision.
The High Court found that the prosecution had failed to establish any circumstance connecting Santhosh with the crime. It noted that the victim was not last seen with him, that forensic material did not connect him with Sowjanya and that the prosecution had not proved its case.
In separate proceedings, Sowjanya's family sought a fresh investigation. The High Court declined to order one, even while observing that Santhosh's acquittal left the obvious question of who committed the crime and that the case demanded further investigation.
Sowjanya's mother approaches the Supreme Court
Kusumavathi challenged the refusal to order a new investigation before the Supreme Court. Her petition alleged that crucial evidence had been overlooked and important witnesses and leads had not been examined.
On April 29, 2026, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K Vinod Chandran asked the Karnataka government to provide a clear response on whether it could form a Special Investigation Team and examine the case again. The court also directed the state to protect possible witnesses identified by the petitioner.
During the July 2026 hearing, Karnataka supported reinvestigation. Santhosh Rao also supported the family's demand to identify the real offenders. The CBI opposed reopening the investigation.
The Supreme Court questioned major gaps raised from the trial record, including the failure to independently examine leads, problems in collecting evidence and the fact that people named by witnesses had allegedly not been properly investigated. The bench reserved its decision and continued witness protection.
Supreme Court orders reinvestigation in September 2026
On September 21, 2026, the Supreme Court ordered the Sowjanya case to be reinvestigated. It directed that a compliance report describing the action taken must be filed within three months.
The order does not identify a new offender or reverse Santhosh Rao's acquittal. Its purpose is to reopen the search for evidence and examine whether earlier investigators missed viable leads.
The reinvestigation can review preserved forensic material, original witness statements, digital and tower records, medical evidence, scene documentation and the conduct of the earlier inquiries. Investigators must follow evidence rather than public allegations.
Complete Sowjanya case timeline
- October 9, 2012: Sowjanya attends college, gets down from a bus near the Netravati bathing ghat and goes missing while walking home.
- October 10, 2012: Her body is found in a wooded area at Mannasanka. Police add rape and murder charges.
- October 11, 2012: Police detain Santhosh Rao near Bahubali Betta and later accuse him of the crime.
- 2012-2013: The investigation moves from local police to the Karnataka CID.
- 2013 onward: The Karnataka government transfers the case to the CBI following public pressure and demands for an independent probe.
- September 19, 2016: A special court frames rape and murder charges against Santhosh Rao.
- June 16, 2023: The special CBI court acquits Santhosh after finding that the prosecution failed to prove its case.
- 2023-2024: The CBI appeals the acquittal. Sowjanya's family continues seeking a fresh investigation.
- August 2024: The Karnataka High Court rejects the request for reinvestigation.
- August 30, 2024: The High Court dismisses the CBI appeal and upholds Santhosh Rao's acquittal.
- January 19, 2025: Sowjanya's father, Chandappa Gowda, dies after continuing the family's campaign for justice.
- April 29, 2026: The Supreme Court asks Karnataka to clarify whether an SIT can reinvestigate and directs protection for possible witnesses.
- July 2026: The Supreme Court questions the earlier investigation, reserves its judgment and continues witness protection.
- September 21, 2026: The Supreme Court orders reinvestigation and seeks a compliance report within three months.
Who killed Sowjanya?
The killer has not been legally identified. Santhosh Rao was acquitted because the evidence did not prove his involvement. Claims naming other individuals remain allegations unless the reinvestigation produces admissible evidence and a court establishes guilt.
What happens next?
The responsible investigation team must now revisit the case and submit its first compliance report to the Supreme Court within three months. Witness protection will remain important because the case is old and several witnesses may need to be located and examined again.
The reinvestigation gives Sowjanya's family a new legal opportunity after almost 14 years. It does not guarantee a conviction. The result will depend on whether preserved forensic material, overlooked witnesses and earlier records can now produce reliable evidence identifying the person or people responsible.