Will challenge bail granted to actor Darshan in fan murder case in SC: Bengaluru Police Commissioner

Bengaluru: Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayanand on Friday said that the police will file an appeal in the Supreme Court questioning the bail granted to Kannada superstar Darshan in the fan murder case.

Sources said that the state Home Department has consented to the proposal of the police to make an appeal seeking cancellation of bail to Darshan and the petition will be filed next week.

Senior counsel V.N. Raghupathi has been appointed to represent the state police.

Darshan was released from prison on October 30, after 131 days behind bars, after the Karnataka High Court granted him conditional bail on medical grounds for six weeks.

The actor is admitted to the BGS Apollo Hospital in Bengaluru and is being treated for severe back pain. However, he had not undergone surgery yet, and it is against this backdrop, that the police are moving the appeal petition in the apex court, sources stated.

In the bail hearing in the high court, counsel for Darshan had stated that if the actor does not undergo surgery, there is a possibility of him getting a stroke.

Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara said on Wednesday that he has consented to the filing of an appeal in the Supreme Court against grant of bail to Darshan in the sensational murder case involving the Kannada superstar's fan.

"I have conveyed to the Secretary of the Home Department that if they want to make an appeal with the higher court in Darshan’s case, they can go ahead," he said.

For the bail, it was submitted that Darshan is facing severe back pain and the disc between L5 and S1 has bulged. Darshan has been undergoing treatment in this regard since 2022-23 and the court was given all records.

The High Court had allowed Darshan to get the treatment at his choice of hospital. He was asked to submit the details and report of the medical treatment he was undergoing within seven days.

Darshan, his partner Pavithra Gowda and 15 others were arrested on June 11 on charges of kidnapping and brutally murdering Renukaswamy from Chitradurga. Renukaswamy had allegedly sent derogatory and obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda as he was miffed with the actor for his relationship with Pavithra Gowda despite being married. Darshan was shifted to Ballari Prison after photos of 'royal treatment' for him at the Bengaluru Central Prison surfaced. He is facing three FIRs in this connection. The police submitted a 3,991-page charge sheet on September 4 in the fan murder case.