In a recent judicial development, the Supreme Court, presided over by Justices Vikram Nath and Satish Chandra Sharma, has issued a notable notice responding to a plea challenging the bail granted to an accused in the infamous Gauri Lankesh murder case.
The petitioner, none other than Gauri Lankesh’s younger sister, Kavita Lankesh, fervently seeks the cancellation of bail bestowed upon Mohan Nayak. Nayak, allegedly implicated in the conspiracy to murder the journalist, faces a plea that aims to put a halt to his freedom.
Gauri Lankesh, the journalist and editor of Kannada tabloid Lankesh Patrike, met a tragic end outside her Bengaluru residence in 2017. Subsequently, an investigation was launched, leading to the filing of a chargesheet, while further probes continued.
Mohan Nayak, accused No.11 in the case, was arrested in 2018 under the provisions of the Karnataka Control of Organized Crime Act (COCA). The charges against Nayak included harboring the individuals responsible for Lankesh’s murder, namely accused Nos. 2 and 3.
Despite multiple bail applications being rejected by various courts, Nayak secured his release on December 7 of the preceding year, courtesy of the Karnataka High Court. The court, acknowledging Nayak’s five-year incarceration and foreseeing a prolonged trial, deemed it fit to grant bail.
However, the Karnataka High Court, in consideration of witness statements, pointed out the absence of evidence linking Nayak to the alleged planning meetings for Lankesh’s murder. Moreover, procedural lapses in invoking COCA were noted, along with doubts about the confessional statements recorded before obtaining approval for COCA invocation.
Emphasizing that the charges under COCA did not exclusively warrant death or life imprisonment, and noting Nayak’s five-year imprisonment already served, the High Court justified the bail. Discontented with this decision, petitioner Kavita Lankesh approached the Supreme Court.
Notably, the CBI had previously indicated a connection between Gauri Lankesh’s murder and the killing of Narendra Dabholkar, an anti-superstition activist. The Supreme Court had earlier queried the CBI about potential links between the deaths of Dabholkar, Lankesh, Govind Pansare, and MM Kalburgi.
Amidst widespread allegations implicating right-wing fundamentalists, accused of opposing the ideas advocated by the slain authors and activists, the Supreme Court, in response to Dabholkar’s daughter’s plea, hinted at the possibility of a broader conspiracy.
Legal representation for the petitioner includes Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, AOR Aparna Bhat, along with Advocates Rohan Sharma and Rashmi Singh in the case titled Kavitha Lankesh v. The State of Karnataka & Anr, Special Leave Petition (Criminal) Diary No(s). 52512/2023.
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