lucky sprite Gauri Lankesh Murder 2017: Last Accused In Custody Got Bail; All 17 Are Out On Bail
Gauri Lankesh Murder 2017: Last Accused In Custody Got Bail; All 17 Are Out On Bail | Photo- File Gauri Lankesh Murder 2017: Last Accused In Custody Got Bail; All 17 Are Out On Bail | Photo- File A Bengaluru court has granted bail to Sharad Bhausaheb Kalaskarlucky sprite, the last accused in jail in connection with the murder of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh.
With this order, all the 17 accused facing trial in the case are now out on bail. There are a total of 18 accused in the case.
Lankesh was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assassins outside her home in Bengaluru on the night of September 5, 2017. Of the total 18 accused arrested since, Vikas Patil is still absconding.
But HI president Dilip Tirkey and secretary general Bhola Nath Singh issued a joint statement on Wednesday, February 28, stating that there was no truth to the allegations and that they stood united.
Hearing Kalaskar’s bail plea on January 8, Justice Muralidhara Pai B of the Principal City Civil and Sessions Court in Bengaluru allowed his release, saying, 'prolonged detention violated his constitutional right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.'
“As already pointed out, on this day all the accused facing trial in the case except the Petitioner are on bail. As such the Petitioner is entitled to bail even on the ground of parity. Further, admittedly the Petitioner has been in custody in the case since 4.9.2018. In several decisions, the Hon'ble Apex Court has repeatedly held that speedy trial is a fundamental right implicit in the broad sweep and content of Article 21 of the Constitution and that if the period of deprivation of personal liberty pending trial becomes unduly long, the fairness assured by Article 21 of the Constitution would receive a jolt,” Bar and Bench quoted the court as saying.
Also Read | Accused In Gauri Lankesh Murder Receive Grand Welcome After Bail, Sparking Controversy
casinos that accept paypalThe prosecution, however, opposed the plea and argued that Kalaskar was earlier convicted in the murder of rationalist thinker Narendra Dabholkar and his release poses a “risk of reoffending.”
The court said, “This court has already examined 164 witnesses, and almost an equal number have been presented by the prosecution.” as per the reports.
In July last yearlucky sprite, a single-judge of the Karnataka High Court had granted bail to three accused persons in the case. A month later, it had granted bail to four more accused persons in the case. All these accused had sought bail on the ground of parity, citing the relief granted to their co-accused, Mohan Nayak, who was granted bail by the High Court in December 2023 on the ground of delay in trial.