Yogesh Gowda murder case: Supreme Court grants bail to former Karnataka minister Vinay Kulkarni

Bengaluru: The Supreme Court granted bail to former Karnataka Minister and Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni on Wednesday in connection with the murder of BJP leader Yogesh Gowda.

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The Supreme Court has ordered that Vinay Kulkarni shall be produced before the concerned trial court within three days and that the trial court shall grant bail to the appellant on the conditions that the trial court deems appropriate.

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The Supreme Court has imposed these conditions as well:

1. No interference with the investigation or the trial

2. No direct or indirect contact with the witnesses in the case and no attempt to influence such witnesses shall be made

3. Appellant shall not enter the district of Dharwad till order of Trial Court. Shall reside in Bangalore

4. Appellant shall mark his presence before CBI twice a week

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The Supreme Court said any violation of these conditions will result in the cancellation of bail. The court said the bail shall not impact the merits of the matter. Besides Kulkarni, the CBI also filed a charge sheet against Chandrashekhar Indi and Shivananand Birdar in a special court in Dharwad.

The central agency had earlier charge sheeted eight persons, namely Santosh Savadatti, Dinesh M, Sunil KS, Harshith, Aswath S, Nazeer Ahamad, Shanawaz, and Nutan KS. The CBI investigation revealed that Vinay Kulkarni and Yogesh Gowda had personal enmity as well as political rivalry. This aggravated when Gowda declined the request to step back from contesting the Zilla Panchayath (ZP) election in 2016.