The bail that the Karnataka High Court had granted to Kannada actors Darshan Thoogudeepa and Pavithra Gowda and five others in the Renukaswamy murder case was overturned by the Supreme Court on Thursday. On the Karnataka government's appeal of the High Court's decision, a bench consisting of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan issued the order. The court issued an order that stated, "The order is set aside, and the bail granted to the accused is set aside." The Bench held that the High Court order suffers from perversity, and it went into the witness statement, which is the prerogative of the trial court.
"The High Court's order shows how power is used in a mechanical way..." The apex court ruled that the grant of bail will affect the trial, and the witnesses may be influenced." "Justice Mahadevan has rendered an extremely scholarly decision. It has no words. It demonstrates that the accused, regardless of their size, is not above the law. It sends a clear message that the rule of law must be upheld at all costs by the justice system at any level. Man is neither above nor below the law. Nor do we ask anyone's permission when we obey it. The need of the hour is to maintain the rule of law at all times," Justice Pardiwala added.
Additionally, the Court advised against giving the accused special treatment while they were in jail. "The first step would be to suspend the superintendent along with all other officials the day we come to know that the accused persons are being provided 5-star treatment," the Bench warned. The dead body of 33-year-old auto-driver Renukaswamy was found on June 9.It is alleged that he passed away as a result of injuries sustained in an attack that was carried out in accordance with Darshan's instructions. Renukaswamy allegedly made derogatory remarks about Pavithra Gowda on social media, so the actor allegedly urged his fans to kidnap him. Darshan was arrested on June 11 last year.
On the basis of his medical condition, the High Court granted him interim bail for six weeks on October 30 of that year. Darshan, Pavithra, and five other defendants received regular bail on December 13, 2024. Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty, a single judge, said that the prosecution had not given the accused a reason to be arrested. The judge cited the Supreme Court’s judgement in the case of journalist and editor Prabir Purkayastha, wherein the apex court had clarified that grounds of arrest were different from the reasons for arrest and that it was necessary for the police to provide all arrested persons with grounds of arrest specific to their respective cases to give them a fair chance to defend themselves and seek bail.
In the present case, the High Court noted that the prosecution had served the accused with the warrant for their arrest a little too late. In addition, it stated that the arrest grounds were all the same, as opposed to containing specific information about each accused. The state then appealed the bail order to the Supreme Court. On January 6, the plea was presented to the highest court by Krishna & Nishani Law Chambers.
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