Renukaswamy murder: Bengaluru court dismisses fresh bail plea by Pavithra Gowda

A Bengaluru sessions court on Tuesday dismissed a fresh bail plea filed by actress Pavithra Gowda in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case.

Judge IP Naik rejected Gowda's new bail plea.

Gowda had contended that the police had wrongly filed the chargesheet in the case under the old Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) instead the new Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The BNSS replaced the CrPC in July 2024.

Her counsel argued that the filing of the chargesheet under the now-outdated CrPC rendered all subsequent proceedings invalid. Gowda, therefore, urged the trial court to grant her bail.

The trial court was not persuaded and dismissed the bail plea.

The case against Gowda concerns the death of 33-year-old auto-driver Renukaswamy, whose dead body was found on June 9, 2024.

It is alleged that he died owing to injuries sustained in an attack carried out on instructions by Kannada actor Darshan Thogudeepa.

The actor allegedly called upon his fans to accost and kidnap Renukaswamy for making derogatory comments against Pavithra Gowda on social media.

The case registered subsequently by the Kamakshipalya police cited the offences of murder, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, destruction of evidence, extortion, rioting, and related offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Pavithra Gowda and Darshan were arrested in June 2024.

In December 2024, the Karnataka High Court granted regular bail to them and five other accused, on finding that they were not given the grounds for their arrest.

However, on August 14 this year, the Supreme Court cancelled their bail, following which all seven accused were taken back into custody.