HC quashes cow theft FIR filed two years After incident

Court questioned how the police could register an FIR in such circumstances without examining the extraordinary delay.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has quashed a criminal case registered against four persons in connection with the alleged theft of two cows, observing that the case reflected a glaring misuse of the criminal justice system. The court remarked that it could hardly find a better example of the abuse of police and criminal law machinery.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order while allowing a petition filed by Mangalamma of Thotanahalli village and three others seeking the quashing of an FIR registered against them at M.K. Doddi Police Station in Channapatna Rural.

Expressing strong displeasure over the manner in which the case was handled, the court noted that the alleged theft had taken place in August 2024, whereas the complaint was lodged only in March 2026, nearly two years later.

The court questioned how the police could register an FIR in such circumstances without examining the extraordinary delay. It observed that while Karnataka Police appeared willing to register such delayed complaints, serious criminal offences requiring prompt investigation often did not receive the same attention.

The bench also criticised the police for wasting valuable investigative resources on cases of this nature instead of concentrating on genuine and serious crimes. It observed that the functioning of the police reflected misplaced priorities and amounted to an abuse of the criminal justice process.

According to the case records, complainant Dasayya stated that on August 18, 2024, he had tied his two cows for grazing before returning home for lunch. When he came back, the animals were missing. He claimed that he informed nearby residents about the missing cattle but did not approach the police immediately.

The complaint further stated that on March 25, 2026, Dasayya met cattle broker Shekar of Thotanahalli, who allegedly admitted that he had arranged the sale of the cows. Shekar allegedly claimed that Mangalamma, Chetan, Chandan and Soumya had requested him to sell the animals, for which he received a commission of Rs 1,000 before selling them to a buyer named Harish from Mailanayakanahosahalli.

Based on this information, Dasayya lodged a complaint on March 26, 2026. Acting on the complaint, M.K. Doddi Police registered an FIR against the four accused under Section 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to theft.

After examining the facts, the High Court held that permitting such criminal proceedings to continue would amount to an abuse of the process of law and accordingly quashed the FIR and all consequential proceedings against the petitioners.