Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Jul 27: The state high court, on Monday July 26, dismissed the bail application moved by Mohan Nayak, an accused in the murder of journalist, Gauri Lankesh. A single judge bench of the high court chaired by Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar which heard the application, passed an order quashing the application.

The bench observed that arrest of an accused does not become illegal just because filing of charge sheet was delayed or there was delay in obtaining magistrate cognizance. Therefore, it dismissed the application.

Advocate for the petitioner, arguing the case, said that even after 90 days after adding Mohan Nayak as the 11th accused in the case, and remanding him to judicial custody, the investigating officers had not filed a charge sheet. He also said that another 90 days’ time has been granted for the filing of the charge sheet without the concurrence of the accused, which is illegal. He pointed out that on May 22, 2021, the high court single judge bench had dropped charges filed against the accused under the Karnataka Control of Organized Crimes (KCOC) Act and likewise, because charge sheet has not been filed, bail can be granted under section 167 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, he argued.

Gauri Lankesh was fired at and murdered don September 5, 2017. The investigating team has so far arrested 17 persons, duly naming them as accused in plotting the murder and executing it. They have also been booked under the KCOC Act.