New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on Karnataka High Court, calling the bail granted to actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, the primary suspect in the gruesome murder case of 33-year-old Renukaswamy in June last year, “a perverse exercise of judicial discretion”.
“We are sorry to say, but does the High Court dictate the same kind of orders in all bail applications? What’s troubling us is the approach of the High Court… especially saying ‘grounds of arrest were not furnished’ for a murder case. Is that the understanding of a High Court judge? We could understand if it were a sessions judge. But a High Court judge committing such a mistake?”
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan made these remarks while hearing a petition filed by the State of Karnataka challenging the High Court’s December 13, 2024 order.
“In a lighter vein, don’t you think the High Court has basically dictated an acquittal of all seven?” Justice Pardiwala further asked, reported Live Law.
The bench also questioned how the High Court dismissed the eyewitness accounts of Kiran and Puneet, who were working as guards.
The bench said that it would not commit the same mistake as the high court of giving “judgement for conviction or acquittal” while expressing concerns over the language used in the bail order. “We are a little serious because it is a case of murder and conspiracy.. we will look into the conduct of the High Court and take a call,” the apex court said, and reserved its order on the plea.
The victim, a fan of the actor, was allegedly held in a shed in Bengaluru for three days in June 2024, tortured and his body was later recovered from a drain.