Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has quashed the chargesheet filed against a resort owner in connection with an alleged rape of a US woman at a homestay in Kodagu, observing that there was no statutory basis to prosecute the private individual for allegedly failing to inform police about the offence.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order while allowing a petition filed by P. Ponnappa, owner of the resort, challenging the chargesheet filed by Kutta police before the Civil and JMFC Court in Ponnampet on June 7, 2026.
The court said there was insufficient evidence to establish the offences alleged against the petitioner. It also noted that the Foreigners Act, 1946, had been repealed with effect from September 1, 2025.
The prosecution had invoked provisions of the Foreigners Act as well as Section 239 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), alleging that Ponnappa had failed to provide information to police after the alleged incident.
The High Court observed that mere knowledge of an offence and subsequent silence does not automatically attract Section 239 of the BNS. The provision applies where a person has a legal obligation to provide information and deliberately fails to discharge that statutory duty.
According to the court, such a statutory obligation could not be established against the petitioner, who was a private individual. Unless the duty to disclose information arises from law, the penal provision cannot be invoked, the court held.
The court further observed that once the legal foundation of an offence has been removed, prosecution based on that foundation cannot continue. Criminal proceedings cannot be converted into punishment merely because an offence was allegedly not reported.
The court clarified that its observations were confined to quashing the chargesheet against Ponnappa and would not affect proceedings pending against other accused persons before any court.
The case relates to an incident reported on April 12, 2026, when the US woman arrived at the Kodagu homestay owned by Ponnappa. According to the prosecution, she was allegedly served a drink containing an intoxicating substance and was subsequently raped by a homestay employee, who was named as the first accused.
Following the alleged incident, the woman reportedly sought medical assistance and police help from Ponnappa. The prosecution alleged that he failed to provide assistance and deliberately withheld information from the police in an attempt to protect the employee.
The police had also alleged that when a foreign national stayed at the homestay, the owner was required under Section 7 of the Foreigners Act to submit Form C to the local police authorities within the prescribed period.
The failure to comply with the requirement was cited as one of the grounds for filing the chargesheet under Sections 7 and 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, along with Section 239 of the BNS.
Ponnappa challenged the chargesheet before the High Court, contending that the allegations and legal provisions invoked against him did not sustain in law.
After examining the material placed before it, the High Court concluded that the necessary statutory obligation and supporting evidence were absent in the petitioner’s case. It consequently quashed the chargesheet filed against him.
The order does not bring the entire criminal case to an end, as proceedings against the other accused in the alleged rape case remain unaffected by the High Court’s ruling.
This post was last modified on August 27, 2026 11:46 am