Popularity can't be a shield for impunity: SC cancels actor Darshan's bail in Renukaswami murder case

New Delhi [India], August 14 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Thursday cancelled the bail of Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, one of the accused in the murder of Renukaswami.

A bench of Justices R Mahadevan and JB Pardiwala found that the Karnataka High Court had granted bail to Darshan by overlooking serious evidence and relying on inadequate grounds contrary to established legal principles in murder cases.

The mere filing of the charge-sheet, the existence of a long list of witnesses, or the possibility of delay in trial, cannot, by themselves, constitute valid reasons to dilute the gravity of the offence or to disregard the case put forth by the prosecution, the Court noted in its verdict.

Additionally, the top court noted that, as per the record, Darshan made clear attempts to interfere with the investigation, including being involved in arranging false surrenders by co-accused persons, making payments to conceal the crime, and leveraging connections with police to manipulate the FIR and postmortem process.

There is also evidence of CCTV footage being deleted from another accused residence and ongoing influence over prosecution witnesses, as demonstrated by public appearances after bail, on part of the Kannada actor, the court added.

The appellant alleged that A2 is not merely misusing liberty post-bail but is the mastermind of efforts to derail the investigation, it said.

Ultimately, the Court found that in the present case, the High Court, granted bail to Actor Darshan based on contradictory findings without a coherent or legally consistent rationale.

The HC while granting bail (to Darshan) recorded that he was not present at the crime scene, but at the same time, accepted that he was in telephonic contact with other accused at crucial times. It also noted that there was no strong motive, while also acknowledging post hostility and prior-enmity with the deceased, the top-court noted.

Notably, the top-court also emphasized that popularity and social status cannot justify bail when there a real risk to the investigation or trial. It also noted that in this case, the High Court erred by treating Darshan celebrity status as a mitigating factor, despite evidence of his misuse of jail privileges, political influence, and ability to undermine the justice system.

Popularity cannot be a shield for impunity. As this Court held, influence, resources and social status cannot form a basis for granting bail where there is a genuine risk of prejudice to the investigation or trial... Notably, celebrities serve as social role models - accountability is greater, not lesser. They, by virtue of their fame and public presence, wield substantial influence on public behaviour and social values. Granting leniency to such persons despite grave charges of conspiracy and murder, sends wrong message to society and undermines public confidence in the justice system the Court noted.

The Court also warned that it will place the jail authorities under suspension if it finds that they are providing Darshan and other accused persons with special or five-star treatment.

Thus, the day we come to know that the accused persons are provided with some special or five-star treatment within the jail premises, the first step in the process will be to place the jail superintendent under suspension including all other officials involved in such misconduct, the Court said.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra appeared for the Karnataka government.

Darshan was named in the chargesheet in the Renukaswamy murder case, where the 33-year-old resident of Chitradurga was murdered. The victim remains were discovered in Bengaluru Kamakshipalya on June 9, 2024.

In October, last year, the Karnataka High Court had granted interim bail for six weeks to jailed actor Darshan Thoogudeep Srinivas, accused in the Renuka Swamy murder case. Subsequently, the Karnataka government had moved the top-court challenging the HC decision to grant bail to Darshan. (ANI)

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