In an interim order, the Supreme Court on Friday
refused to cancel the bail granted to Kannada actors Darshan Thoogudeepa,
Pavithra Gowda, and others in a murder case but agreed to examine the Karnataka
government's challenge against it and issued notice.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan
issued notice to Darshan and others on the state's plea against the Karnataka
High Court's bail order.
The state government, said the apex court,
apprehended other co-accused would take advantage of the high court order.
"Since state is praying for cancellation of
bail, it would not be proper to stay the operation of the order as it would
amount to cancellation of bail. Yet, to protect the interest of prosecution, if
any co-accused prays on bail, the court concerned shall not place reliance on
the order challenged before us. Any bail application filed shall be decided on
its own merit," clarified the bench.
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra along with advocate
Anil Nishani, appearing for the state government, submitted that the high court
completely "white-washed" the whole case.
He expressed apprehension and said the other
co-accused would take benefit of the high court bail order.
The Karnataka High Court on December 13, 2024
granted bail to the actor Darshan and others.
Darshan was arrested on June 11, 2024, for allegedly
killing his fan Renukaswamy on June 8 the same year after he reportedly sent
obscene messages to Gowda.
Before the grant of bail, the actor was lodged at
the Parappana Agrahara Jail in Bengaluru but when a photograph of him relaxing
with some other jail inmates went viral, he was transferred to Ballari Central
Jail.
The state moved the top court against the bail on
January 6.
The mortal remains of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, an
autorickshaw driver, were discovered on June 9, 2024.
He allegedly succumbed to injuries after being
attacked on the orders of Darshan, who reportedly urged his fans to accost and
kidnap Renukaswamy for posting derogatory comments about Gowda on social media.
The Karnataka High Court granted Darshan an interim
bail on medical grounds for six weeks on October 30, 2024 but granted regular
bail in December.