The Supreme Court has issued notice on a petition challenging the Karnataka High Court verdict granting bail to an accused in the murder case of journalist Gauri Lankesh.
The order was passed recently by the Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma on a petition filed by Gauri Lankesh’s younger sister Kavita Lankesh.
The petitioner challenged the December 7, 2023 verdict of the High Court, which granted bail to accused Mohan Nayak on the grounds that he had spent over five years in custody and that the trial was not likely to be completed soon.
The single-judge Bench of Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty observed in respect of the statements of the witnesses, that the witnesses did not depose to Nayak’s presence in the meetings, wherein Lankesh’s murder was allegedly planned.
It further noted that confessional statements of the accused were recorded prior to receiving approval for invoking Karnataka Control of Organized Crime Act (KCOCA). Besides, requirements under Section 19 of the Act were not complied with, added Justice Shetty.
The single-judge Bench directed Nayak to execute a personal bond of Rs one lakh with two sureties for the like sum, and appear on all the dates of hearing before the trial court, unless exempted.
It further noted that even if the charges against Nayak under KCOCA were proved, the offences were not exclusively punishable with death or life imprisonment. The minimum punishment entailed imprisonment for five years and Nayak had already undergone incarceration for that period.
Gauri Lankesh was the editor of Kannada tabloid Lankesh Patrike. She was shot dead outside her house in Bengaluru in 2017. An investigation was launched after the death of Lankesh and a charge sheet was filed in the case.
CBI later filed an additional charge sheet in the case, after getting approval for invoking provisions under the KCOCA, and arraigned Nayak as accused No.11. He was arrested in 2018. Nayak was alleged of harbouring accused Nos. 2 and 3, who shot Lankesh, in pursuit of the conspiracy to murder.