Renukaswamy Murder Case: SC Criticizes Bail to actor Darshan, Questions HC’s Reasoning

Supreme Court today expressed its concerns over the manner in which the Karnataka High Court had granted bail to Kannada actor Darshan in the connection with the Renukaswamy murder case.

A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan has said it is not at all convinced by the manner in which the High Court exercised its discretion. "You must have seen the manner in which the high court had dictated the order,” Justice Pardiwala told Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Darshan.

Notably, in January this year state of Karnataka had moved the Supreme Court of India against bail granted to Darshan.

In December last year, the Karnataka High Court's single judge bench of Justice S Vishwajith Shetty had granted bail to the Kannada actor and his partner Pavithra Gowda. Karnataka filed an SLP before the Supreme Court challenging the relief granted to Darshan who was arrested from Mysuru on June 11, 2024.

Renukaswamy was found dead at Sumanahalli Bridge in Bengaluru on June 8, 2024. Allegedly, Renukaswamy died owing to injuries sustained in an attack carried out on Darshan’s instructions. The actor allegedly called upon his fans to accost and kidnap Renukaswamy for making derogatory comments against Pavithra Gowda on social media.

On 30 October, Dharshan was also granted interim bail for six weeks on medical grounds.

Case Title: The State of Karnataka vs. Darshan