Supreme Court of India expresses serious concerns over Karnataka High Court’s rationale behind granting bail to actor Darshan in the Renukaswamy murder case.
On July 24, 2025, the Supreme Court of India raised serious objections to the Karnataka High Court's reasoning for granting bail to actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, the prime accused in the Renukaswamy murder case. The apex court called the reasoning a "perverse exercise of judicial power" and indicated procedural flaws and inadequate legal analysis.
Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan were part of the bench that evaluated the framing of the bail judgment, suggesting that it had acquitted without necessarily offering a temporary liberty order. They especially red-carded the High Court for trying to frame its language and logic usually reserved for judgments and not for bail. Justice Pardiwala remarked, "This judge is found to dismiss the importance of charges under section 302 of the IPC (murder) and he's a judge of the High Court and not a trial judge." He went further to say, "What is troubling us is the approach of the High Court!
"In a lighter vein, don't you think the High Court has basically dictated an order acquittal of all seven?" According to Live Law, Justice Pardiwala inquired.
"Why should you do on day to day basic for this matter? There must be undertrial prisoners languishing in jail for 5-7 years waiting for their trial to commence," Justice Pardiwala.
The Supreme Court reiterated its disapproval in another session, this time on July 17, 2025. The apex court had explicitly indicated its lack of comfort with the matter: it had put forth that it was "not convinced" with the application of discretionary power by the High Court in granting bail-one viewpoint that led to the said appeal with the Karnataka government seeking cancellation of bail. During hearings, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented Darshan, had to satisfy the bench with compelling reasons to retain bail. The bench further made a note of how it would scrutinize the evidence available, including the provisions under Section 161/164 and very vital witness deposits.
On the Renukaswamy case: In June 2024, Darshan was arrested on charges that he, with accomplices, kidnapped Renukaswamy after he allegedly sent obscene messages to actress Pavithra Gowda, who eventually died as a result of the acts. The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment on whether the bail should stand or be revoked as it had been challenged by the state. There is another hearing set to be held, where the bail reasoning and legal weight of the evidence will be reassessed. This judicial intervention would bring out the Supreme Court's role in maintaining the integrity of bail jurisprudence and would act as a strict check against the procedural rigor with which discretionary relief granted by the lower courts should serve. Also, it suspends any premature impact on the substantive trial process, especially in serious offenses such as murder cases.
