Actor Darshan gets big relief in Renukaswamy murder case, Supreme Court refuses to cancel bail

Actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, Pavitra Gowda, and five others have got a big relief in the Renukaswamy murder case. The Supreme Court refused to cancel their bail on Friday. Now their bail will continue. However, the court agreed to examine the government's challenge. A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan issued notice to Darshan and others on the state's petition against the bail order of the Karnataka High Court.

The Supreme Court said that the state government fears that other co-accused will be allowed to take advantage of the order passed by the High Court. Since the State is praying for cancellation of bail, it would not be appropriate to stay the operation of the order, as it would amount to cancellation of bail. Nevertheless, to protect the interest of the prosecution, if any co-accused prays for bail, the court concerned shall not rely on the order challenged before us. Any bail plea filed will be decided on its merits.

The High Court of Karnataka granted bail to actor Darshan and others on December 13, 2024. Darshan was arrested by the Karnataka police on June 11, 2024, for allegedly murdering his fan Renukaswamy on June 8 the same year as he had allegedly sent obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda. The actor was lodged at Bengaluru's Parappana Agrahara prison before being granted bail and was shifted to Ballari Central Prison after a photo of him relaxing with some other prison inmates went viral.

The State moved the Supreme Court on January 6 against the grant of bail. The body of Renukaswamy, an autorickshaw driver aged 33 years, was found on June 9, 2024. He succumbed to the injuries that he sustained in an attack allegedly by the followers of Darshan, who reportedly incited them to blame and kidnap Renukaswamy for posting derogatory comments about Pavitra Gowda on social media. On October 30, 2024, the Karnataka High Court granted interim bail to Darshan for six weeks on medical grounds, and in December granted him and others regular bail.