Karnataka HC rejects State's plea to cancel bail granted to BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj in murder case

The Karnataka High Court on Monday dismissed the State government's petition seeking cancellation of bail granted to BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj, who is an accused in the murder of rowdy-sheeter Shivaprakash alias Biklu Shiva [State of Karnataka v. BA Basavaraja].

Justice M Nagaprasanna dismissed the State's petition, declining to interfere with the bail granted to Basavaraj on March 12 this year.

The case arises from the murder of Biklu Shiva, who was allegedly attacked by a group of assailants in front of his mother's house in Bengaluru on July 15, 2025. The complaint was lodged by Vijay Lakshmi, the mother of the deceased. According to the complaint, Shiva was attacked at around 8 pm by around 8-9 unidentified persons. The incident was allegedly witnessed by two persons, following which the complaint was registered and a first information report (FIR) was lodged.

The investigation was initially conducted by the Bharati Nagar Police and was subsequently transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) pursuant to a State government order. After taking over the investigation, the CID sought permission to invoke provisions of the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA) in the case. The competent authority granted permission for invoking the provisions on August 2, 2025. Basavaraj challenged the invocation of KCOCA, which was subsequently allowed by the High Court by an order dated December 19, 2025.

Following the rejection of his anticipatory bail plea, Basavaraj was arrested by the CID on February 12, 2026. He was initially remanded to police custody for one week and was thereafter remanded to judicial custody.

In February, Basavaraj had approached the Supreme Court seeking anticipatory bail, to no avail. The trial court later granted bail on the ground that the material cited against Basavaraj did not appear to be strong. The trial court also said that it was not necessary to remand him for further custodial interrogation.

The State was represented by Special Public Prosecutor BN Jagadeesha, while Senior Advocate Sandesh Chouta appeared for Basavaraj.