Karnataka HC junks murder accused’s illegal detention claim made citing Google Maps data

He relied on a Google Map to show that the distance between the bus stop where he was apprehended and the police station was 56 minutes and the distance from the police station to the magistrate’s court was only two minutes. He filed the petition soon after the trial court rejected his bail application.

Additional State Public Prosecutor B N Jagadeesha opposed the petition and submitted that on that day—May 26, 2025, the regular jurisdictional magistrate was on leave and therefore the accused had to be produced before the in-charge magistrate for securing remand custody.

Moreover, the prosecutor also contended that the delay is to be condoned since travel time from the police station to the magistrate’s court is to be excluded from the statutory 24-hour period.

In his order on March 13, Justice M Nagaprasanna said that as per the arrest panchnama, Shivraj was officially arrested at 5 pm on May 25, 2025, and produced before the magistrate at 5.25 pm the next day.

The prosecution’s explanation for the delay is acceptable, he added.

“What would unmistakably emerge is that the delay of 25 minutes in producing the petitioner before the learned Magistrate is not fatal in the case at hand, as it is adequately explained by the prosecution,” the court order read.

“The Court of Session, analysing the entire documents and the Google Map, had declined to accept the plea of the petitioner and refused regular bail. There is no warrant to have a re-look at what the Court of Session has held,” the order further said.