Bengaluru, May 30, 2025: The Karnataka High Court has acquitted Reshma Hegde in a 2011 theft case from Udupi, overturning the convictions of lower courts. Justice S. Rachaiah delivered the verdict on May 22, 2025, setting aside the earlier judgments that had found her guilty of housebreaking and theft.
Reshma Hegde (32), a resident of Vinanthi House, Lakshmindra Nagar, Shivalli Village, Udupi, was accused of breaking into a house and stealing gold ornaments weighing approximately 20½ pauns on May 1, 2011, at around 1:30 p.m. The prosecution alleged that Hegde, along with another accused, broke the lock of the complainants’ house while they were away and committed the theft. A case was registered by the Kaup Circle Police under Crime No. 66/2011, charging the accused under Sections 454 (housebreaking) and 380 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), followed by the submission of a charge sheet.
The Principal Civil Judge and JMFC, Karkala, convicted Hegde on November 10, 2016, in C.C. No. 437/2011. This judgment was upheld by the Principal Sessions Judge, Udupi, on April 26, 2018, in Criminal Appeal No. 74/2016. Challenging these concurrent findings, Hegde filed a Criminal Revision Petition (No. 704/2018) in the Karnataka High Court.
During the hearing, Hegde’s counsel, Nishit Kumar Shetty, argued that the lower courts’ findings were flawed. He contended that the recovery of the stolen items, allegedly made under Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, was not properly conducted and did not establish Hegde’s exclusive possession. Additionally, he claimed that documents produced by the manager of Bhima Jewellers were fabricated. The prosecution’s case stated that gold ornaments were stolen, but the recovered items were in the form of gold ingots, casting doubt on their identity.
The State’s counsel, K. Nageshwarappa, defended the lower courts’ rulings, citing the testimonies of prosecution witnesses (PWs 1, 2, 4, and 6) and documents (Exs. P.13 to P.16) from Bhima Jewellers, which indicated that the accused had sold the stolen gold and purchased new ornaments. However, the court noted that the manager of Bhima Jewellers (PW.6) stated the gold was recovered as ingots, not ornaments, raising doubts about the evidence’s reliability.
Justice S. Rachaiah observed that the testimony of PW.6 lacked credibility and that the recovery of gold ingots was insufficient to prove Hegde’s guilt. The lower courts had erred in evaluating the evidence, leading to an incorrect conviction. Consequently, the High Court allowed the petition, set aside the convictions dated November 10, 2016, and April 26, 2018, and acquitted Hegde of the charges under IPC Sections 454 and 380. Any bail bonds executed were also canceled.
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