The Karnataka High Court on Friday granted bail to Kannada superstar Darshan and his partner Pavitra Gowda in the Renukaswamy murder case.
A bench headed by Justice Vishwajit Shetty also granted bail to accused Nagaraju, Anukumar, M. Lakshman, Jagadish and Pradush Rao. Senior advocate CV Nagesh represented Darshan and special public prosecutor (SPP) P. Prasanna Kumar argued for the prosecution.
Gowda’s lawyer Shilpa said that he was granted bail on the basis of arguments raising questions on his involvement in the case. Gowda, currently lodged in the Central Jail at Parappana Agrahara on the outskirts of Bengaluru, will be released on Monday.
During the arguments on the regular bail plea, CV Nagesh had refuted the objections raised by the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP), saying that although there were allegedly 39 blood stains on Renukaswamy’s body, there was only one bleeding injury. . Nagesh asserted that the prosecution “lied” at every stage from recording the statements of eyewitnesses to conducting the investigation.
“The bail was granted on the basis of the report of Ballari’s doctors. The BGS Hospital doctors also accepted the report of Ballari’s doctors, which confirmed the need for surgery on the actor,” he said.
He argued, “We must perform the operation as per the doctors’ recommendation. It cannot be done on demand after three or four weeks.”
Earlier, Special Public Prosecutor P. Prasanna Kumar told the Karnataka High Court that Darshan was “misusing” the interim bail granted to him on medical grounds.
Prasanna Kumar lodged his objection before the court for granting regular bail, saying that the interim bail was sought citing urgency and the court was told that he was likely to suffer a stroke. Prasanna Kumar further said that dramatic situations arise in matters of darshan.
Recently the court had extended Darshan’s interim bail on medical grounds. Darshan was released from jail on interim bail on October 30 after spending 131 days in jail. Darshan, admitted to BGS Apollo Hospital in Bengaluru, was undergoing treatment for severe back pain.
Darshan, his associate Gowda and 15 others were arrested on June 11 for the kidnapping and brutal murder of his fan Renukaswamy from Chitradurga. Renukaswamy had allegedly sent abusive and obscene messages to Pavitra Gowda as he was upset with the actor having an affair with him despite being married.