The Supreme Court recently sought the response of the Karnataka government on a plea opposing the Karnataka High Court's decision to grant bail to Mohan Nayak, who is among those accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case [Kavitha Lankesh vs State of Karnataka and anr].A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Satish Chandra Sharma on January 12 issued notice to the State government and Nayak, returnable in four weeks.Journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead in 2017.On December 7, 2023, the Karnataka High Court granted bail to Mohan Nayak, one among the accused in the case.This decision has been challenged by Gauri Lankesh's sister, Kavitha before the apex court.Nayak was the first person to get bail in the case.High Court judge Justice S Viashwajith Shetty granted him bail after noting that none of the twenty-three witnesses who spoke about the role of Nayak said that he was part of a meeting where the accused persons allegedly conspired to murder Lankesh.
Most of those witnesses have only spoken about Nayak taking a house on rent at Kumbalagodu in the outskirts of Bengaluru, it added.According to the prosecution, Nayak had taken the house on rent to give shelter to actual assailants in the case.The High Court also poked holes in the confession statements recorded in the case and noted that the same was done prior to sanction being granted for invoking the provisions of the Karnataka Control of Organized Crimes Act (COCA).
Further, even if charges under COCA are proved against the accused, the offences are not punishable exclusively with death or life imprisonment, the High Court observed.
The records also revealed that Nayak has been in custody for more than five years. The High Court concluded that the trial may not be completed any time soon and also observed that such a delay was not attributable to the accused.
Therefore, it allowed Nayak's release on bail. Before this, the High Court had denied Nayak regular bail twice.Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi with advocates Aparna Bhat, Rohan Sharma, and Rashmi Singh appeared for Kavitha Lankesh before the Supreme Court.
TAGS: Gauri Lankesh Shooting Incident Karnataka High Court Mohan Nayak Bail Granted Supreme Court
