The Supreme Court cancelled Kannada actor Darshan's bail in the Renukaswamy murder case on Thursday. The court stated, “Whosoever he may be, howsoever high, he is not above the rule of law,” while cancelling the bail of Darshan and six others.
The state government had filed a plea in the Supreme Court challenging the Karnataka High Court's decision to grant the actor regular bail. A bench of Justices J. B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan observed that the "well-founded allegations, coupled with forensic evidence, reinforce the cancellation of bail" in connection with the torture and murder of a fan.
Darshan will now be lodged at Bengaluru's Parappana Agrahara Prison. Justice Pardiwala reminded the Karnataka government that it would be held accountable if it was found that the influential actor was receiving any special treatment or privileges inside the prison.
"We considered everything, the grant of bail as well as cancellation. It is evident that the High Court suffers from serious infirmities; instead, it reflects a mechanical exercise and moreover, the High Court undertook examination at the pre-trial stage... The trial court alone is the appropriate forum. Granting bail without considering the well-founded allegations, coupled with forensic evidence, reinforces the cancellation of bail. We are satisfied to exercise extraordinary jurisdiction. Bail granted to the petitioner CANCELLED," Live Law quoted the Supreme Court bench as saying.
It added, "Granting bail in such a serious case without adequately considering the nature and gravity of the offence, the accused's role, and the tangible interference with the trial are a perverse and unwarranted exercise of discretion. The well-founded allegations of witness intimidation, coupled with compelling forensic and circumstantial evidence, further reinforce the cancellation of bail. Consequently, the liberty granted under the impugned order poses a real and imminent threat to the fair administration of justice and risks derailing the trial."
What led to the abduction and murder of Renukaswamy?
A fan of the actor, Renukaswamy, had sent obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda for her role in allegedly derailing the actor's family. A furious Gowda wanted Darshan to act, and upon his order, the actor's henchmen identified and abducted Renukaswamy.
Raghavendra, one of the accused and part of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R. R. Nagar on the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him. In an autorickshaw, Renukaswamy was taken from the outskirts of Chitradurga to a shed in Bengaluru's R. R. Nagar.
Once he was told about the abduction, Darshan and Pavithra joined the co-accused at the shed and started assaulting Renukaswamy. Pavithra hit him repeatedly with her footwear, it was found during the probe. Renukaswamy was assaulted for hours and even administered electric shocks to his genitals. He bled profusely as the gang took turns attacking him for hours, the report said. According to the post-mortem report, Renukaswamy died due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.