The Karnataka High Court on Monday took exception to State police pursuing trivial matters instead of dealing with serious offences [Mangalamma and ors v. State of Karnataka]..Justice M Nagaprasanna took exception to the fact that the police had registered a crime over two cows that had gone missing two years back. “You leave the cows' investigation. Go behind the real crimes. Why did you register this crime? On the allegation that two years back, two cows were missing, you registered the crime,” Justice Nagaprasanna told the State's counsel.The judge added that the police did not show such proactiveness when it comes to registering complaints about more serious crimes."Real crimes, you don’t register. They (complainants) have to knock at the police station's door a 100 times to register real crime. Two cows are missing two years ago and a crime is registered,” he commented..The Court was hearing a family's plea to quash a criminal case registered against them last month over two cows that went missing in 2024.The Court today observed that the case registered by the police was an abuse of process of law and proceeded to stay the police investigation."In 2024, two cows go missing. The entire family is roped into the web of crime registered in the year 2026 because the cows were not traced. If this would be permitted, this would become an abuse of the process of law on the face of it. Therefore, there shall be an interim order of stay of further investigation," the Court said..Real crimes, you (police) don’t register. Two cows are missing two years ago and a crime is registered.Justice M Nagaprasanna.The remarks come just days after the same Bench had commented, albeit in a lighter vein, that the Karnataka Police was more focused on investigating couples in live-in relationships than real crimes.The said comment was made while the Court was hearing Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh's plea to quash a criminal case registered against him over his mimicry of Chamundi Daiva's depiction in the film Kantara.When a lawyer told the Court that the Karnataka police was powerful enough to protect Singh from any threats he may face during his visit to the Chamundi temple, to repent for his comments, Justice Nagaprasanna had replied,"So powerful that they go behind live-in relationships, they go behind couples. Real crime is not being investigated only. Only (Section) 69 (BNS) (cases are being taken by them)."
