The petitioner is accused of kidnapping Renukaswamy from Chitradurga and bringing him to Bangalore, assaulting him and killing him in a shed in Pattangere.
Bengaluru (Dec. 14): Grant Bail to Darshan Gang
The High Court has granted conditional bail to seven accused including actor Darshan and Pavitra Gowda in the Chitradurga Renukaswamy murder case. The accused in the case, actor Darshan, his girlfriend Pavitra Gowda, manager Nagaraju, Darshan’s vehicle driver Darshan’s vehicle driver Lakshman, Anukumar, Jagadish, and Pradosh S. Rao, close connections. granted the bail applications on Friday. The candidates and blamed need to outfit an individual obligation of Rs. one lakh each and two guarantees. Should go to the preliminary trial routinely.
Cannot be absent from the hearing without reasonable cause and the permission of the trial court. Cannot directly or indirectly threaten the prosecution witnesses. Cannot attempt to tamper with evidence. Cannot be involved in such acts. The High Court has made it a condition for granting bail that the accused cannot leave the jurisdiction of the trial court without the prior permission of the trial court until the case is resolved.
This means that Darshan, who was released on interim bail to undergo surgery for a spinal cord problem and was admitted to the hospital, does not need to go back to jail after treatment. On the other hand, Pavithra Gowda, who was in judicial custody for the last 6 months, has been granted release along with other petitioners.
What are the reasons for Grant Bail to Darshan Gang?
The petitioner is accused of kidnapping Renukaswamy from Chitradurga and bringing him to Bangalore, assaulting him and killing him in a shed in Pattangere. If we examine the documents, before coming to Bengaluru, Renukaswamy told his parents, ‘I am with my friends. I will not come home for lunch.’ While coming to Bengaluru by car, he went to a bar and a restaurant with the accused and bought liquor. The bench said that Renukaswamy came to Bengaluru with the accused voluntarily.
Also, the accused beat Renukaswamy with their hands and feet. It is seen from the documents that they attacked him with two tree branches, a wooden stick and a nylon rope. Looking at these weapons, it cannot be said that the accused were ready to attack and kill Renukaswamy.
Did they intend to kill him? What is the evidence that Renukaswamy had 39 wounds on his body and that his blood stains were found on the clothes and shoes of the accused? The veracity of the post-mortem report needs to be known from a full-fledged hearing by the trial court. The seat said in its structure that the High Court can’t direct a small preliminary at this stage.
None of the candidates had a critical criminal history. Every one of them has solid connections to the local area. Those who are looking for them have been detained in court custody for the past six months. 262 witnesses have been named by the defence attorney on the case’s charge sheet. It has generated 13 volumes with 587 documents. The trial court is unlikely to conclude the case hearing anytime soon. As a result, the bench declared that bail would be granted to each petitioner.
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Conditions for the Accused’s Release and Bail
1. Restrictions on Absence from Court
- The accused cannot be absent from hearings without reasonable cause and prior permission from the trial court
2. Prohibition on Threatening Witnesses
- Threatening witness protection directly or indirectly is severely not allowed for the accused.
3. No Tampering with Evidence
- Any attempt to tamper with evidence is not allowed
4. Geographical Restrictions on Movement
- The High Court has specified that the accused cannot leave the jurisdiction of the trial court without prior approval until the case is resolved.
5. Specific Case Updates
- Darshan, who was on interim bail for spinal cord surgery, does not need to return to jail post-treatment.
- Pavithra Gowda, in judicial custody for six months, has been granted release along with other petitioners.
In addition, as per the judgment given by the Supreme Court in the Pankaj Bansal and Purakayastha case, the reason/grounds (memo of grounds of arrest) should be provided as soon as the accused are arrested. In the case, Pavithra Gowda (A-1), Darshan (A-2), Nagaraju (A-11), Lakshman (A-12), and Pradosh (A-14) were arrested on June 11, 2024. On June 14, Jagadish (A-6) and Anukumar (A-7) were taken into custody.
If we examine the trial court’s order, it is seen that the reasons/grounds for arrest were not provided to the accused immediately after their arrest. Furthermore, the court witnesses were present at the time of the arrest of the accused. They did not say anything in their statements recorded before the investigating officers about why they signed the arrest memo. In addition, the bench said that the statements of the witnesses were recorded late.
The prosecution’s argument that the grounds for arrest memo was provided immediately after the arrest of the accused is highly dubious. In this case, the accused were arrested on different dates. Only the reasons given for the arrest are the same. It is a cyclostyle copy. After October 3, 2023, the arrest statement must be provided as soon as the person charged is taken into custody. The bench said in the order that the petitioners are eligible for bail as the investigating officers (prosecution) have not followed this rule.
The State Director General of Police should immediately take steps to prepare a uniform memo template to be provided to the accused. It should be attached to the remand report while submitting the request for the remand of the accused. The High Court has directed that the magistrate and the district courts should take it into record without fail, and the High Court has directed the registry to send a copy of this order to all the magistrates and district courts in the state.
Who is on bail?
Actor Darshan, his girlfriend Pavithra Gowda, manager R. Nagaraju, Darshan’s car driver Lakshman, Anukumar, Jagadish, and Pradosh S. Rao, close connections.
What are the conditions for granting bail to Darshan Gang?
Two guarantees and a personal bond of Rs. 1 lakh each are required for the claim. They are required to routinely attend the trial court hearing. They should have a substantial reason for going to the consultation. Witnesses must not be threatened. They must refrain from trying to alter the evidence. They must not engage in comparable activities. Without the trial court’s prior consent, they are not permitted to depart from its bounds.