Autorickshaw driver to file defamation case against Udupi police over wrongful prosecution
An autorickshaw driver in Udupi plans to sue the local police for defamation after the Karnataka High Court quashed wrongful prosecution charges against him. The driver was falsely implicated in a theft case after being tricked into signing documents by an officer.
Why it matters
This case highlights issues of police accountability and the potential for wrongful prosecution of citizens in the Indian legal system.
An autorickshaw driver Shrinivas, alias Sheena Poojary, has said that he will file a defamation case against the Udupi police for his wrongful prosecution in a case related to the extraction and theft of laterite stones from a government land after the Karnataka High Court quashed the proceedings initiated by the Gangolli police against him.
Talking to reporters in Udupi on Tuesday, Mr. Poojary said a commuter, Uday Shetty, had hired his autorickshaw on August 24, 2025, and asked him to wait in front of the Gangolli police station. After 30 minutes, a police constable approached him, asked whether he knew Shetty, and asked him to sign a document. When the constable said it was just a formality, he signed it. The police also took a copy of Mr. Poojary’s Aadhaar card.
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