Karnataka govt to challenge bail granted to actor Darshan in Renukaswamy murder case

PTI, Dec 30, 2024, 8:26 PM IST

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has decided to challenge the High Court’s decision on granting bail to Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and others accused in the Renukaswamy murder case.

Government sources said the state has sanctioned the filing of a special leave petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court. The petition aims to contest the high court’s December decision on granting bail to the accused.

Siddarth Luthra, a senior advocate, has been appointed as a special counsel to represent the state in the case. The order also instructed the state public prosecutor to prepare the necessary documents for the SLP.

Darshan was initially released on interim bail on October 30, citing medical reasons, after spending 131 days in custody. The high court later granted him and Pavithra Gowda, the prime accused, regular bail on December 13. All other individuals named in the case have also been released on bail.

In September, Bengaluru police filed a comprehensive 3,991-page chargesheet in connection with the case.

Apart from Darshan (accused number two) and Gowda, the chargesheet includes several others: Pawan K (29), Raghavendra (43), Nandish (28), Jagadish (36), Anukumar (25), Ravi Shankar (32), Dhanraj D (27), Vinay V (38), Nagaraju (41), Laxman (54), Deepak (39), Pradosh (40), Karthik (27), Keshavamurthy (27), and Nikhil Nayak (21).

The charges stem from the murder of Renukaswamy, who was reportedly a fan of Darshan. He was murdered on June 9 for allegedly sending lewd messages to Gowda.