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Karnataka HC rejects Darshan plea on approver hearing
The Hindu··14 Aug
The Karnataka High Court on August 13 dismissed actor Darshan's petition seeking a hearing on co-accused Pradosh S Rao's application to turn approver in the Renukaswamy murder case. Justice M Nagaprasanna upheld the sessions court's August 10 order refusing objections. Darshan is the second of 17 accused and remains in judicial custody in a Bengaluru jail.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you follow the Renukaswamy trial, Darshan cannot now block Rao's approver application at the threshold; the sessions court will apply the Kulkarni procedure.
- Co-accused in other Karnataka trials can note the High Court repeated that natural justice does not apply at the pardon-consideration stage.
- Viewers of the case can separate this ruling from guilt: it decides who may speak on an approver plea, not the murder charge.
What's Happening
- Darshan challenged the 58th Additional City Civil and Sessions Court's refusal to let him file objections to Rao's pardon application.
- Special Public Prosecutor P Prasanna Kumar cited the High Court's earlier Section 306 ruling in the Yogeshgouda murder case involving Vinay Kulkarni.
- Justice Nagaprasanna dismissed the petition after hearing senior advocate Hasmath Pasha for Darshan.
What an Approver Application Does in a Murder Trial
- Section 306 CrPC lets a court tender pardon to an accused who agrees to make a full disclosure, turning that person into a prosecution witness.
- The High Court said allowing every co-accused to object at this stage could stop the process from concluding.
- Darshan and actress Pavithra Gowda are among 17 accused; Rao's application does not itself decide their guilt or innocence.
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