Actor Darshan walks out of jail after Karnataka High Court grants him bail in Renukaswamy murder case

Actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, arrested more than four months ago in a murder case, walked out of jail here on Wednesday, hours after the Karnataka High Court granted him interim bail on medical grounds, to undergo spine surgery.

The 47-year-old, arrested on June 11, was lodged in Ballari prison. His friend Pavithra Gowda and 15 others are co-accused in the Renukaswamy murder case. The bench of Justice S Vishwajith Shetty on Wednesday morning granted interim bail to Darshan for a period of six weeks. And he was released from prison this evening after jail authorities completed formalities on receiving the court order.

The court has laid down certain conditions, as per which he should execute a personal bond for a sum of Rs two lakhs with two sureties for the like sum, and surrender his Passport before the Trial Court.

It has also said that he is "at liberty to get himself operated and treated in a Hospital of his choice at Bengaluru and he shall report to the said Hospital forthwith after his release and get himself medically examined and a report from the said Hospital mentioning the probable date of petitioner's surgery, period of admission of petitioner in the Hospital for the proposed treatment and follow-up treatment if any, shall be filed before this Court within one week from the date of release."

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the government "respectfully welcomes" the decision of the High Court granting interim bail to actor Darshan. "I will not question the verdict of the court. The government will respectfully welcome the decision of the court," he told reporters here in response to a question.

Family of Renukaswamy, who was allegedly killed by Darshan and others, declined to comment on the Court granting him interim bail, but expressed confidence that the guilty will be punished as they have faith in the judiciary and police.

"Bail has been granted under the legal system, we cannot comment on it. We have faith that the guilty will be punished. We have faith in law and the police. (Darshan's) treatment is a matter for the Doctor, him and the court, we don't want to comment on it," Renukaswamy's father Kashinath Shivanagoudar told reporters in Davangere.

"We don't have anything to say other than that the guilty should be punished. We have faith in law and judiciary, so we are confident that the guilty will be punished," he added. Sahana, wife of Renukaswamy, had given birth to a baby boy on October 16. She was five months pregnant when her husband was killed.

Darshan's fans burst into celebration in various parts of Karnataka, after news broke that he has secured interim bail. Darshan's wife Vijayalakshmi performed a special prayer at Durgamma Temple in the district headquarters town of Ballari, where her husband is lodged in a prison.

Waving Darshan's posters, hundreds of his fans distributed sweets and burst crackers in several areas of Ballari and Bengaluru, among others. 

Among the other conditions imposed on Darshan while granting interim bail include: he shall not directly or indirectly threaten or tamper with the prosecution witnesses, also he has been asked to refrain himself from appearing before print, (electronic) media or any social media to give any statement on any issue including his health condition, during the interim bail.

Further asking Darshan to surrender before the Committal Court/Trial Court immediately after expiry of the period of interim bail granted to him which would be however subject to further order of this Court, the HC said he shall not leave the jurisdiction of the Trial Court during the period of interim bail.

The court had reserved the order on Tuesday on the bail application after hearing detailed arguments from the actor's legal representative, senior advocate C V Nagesh, and State Public Prosecutor P Prasanna Kumar.

The State had presented medical reports in a sealed cover from doctors at Ballari central prison, and the Head of the Department of Neurology at a government hospital in Ballari. 

According to police, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to Pavithra, which enraged Darshan, allegedly leading to his murder. His body was found near a storm water drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli here on June nine.

Raghavendra, one of the accused who is part of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R R Nagar here, on the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him. It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and murdered.

According to the post-mortem report, Renukaswamy, a native of Chitradurga, died due to shock and hemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries. Police have said Pavithra, who is accused number one, was the "major cause" for Renukaswamy's murder, claiming that it has been proved from the probe that she instigated other accused, conspired with them, and took part in the crime.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)