Bengaluru, April 9 – The Special Court for MLAs/MPs in Bengaluru has adjourned the pronouncement of its judgment in the murder case of BJP leader and Zilla Panchayat member Yogesh Gowda, in which sitting Dharwad Rural Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni is an accused, to April 15.
The case dates back to 2016, and the court will also decide the fate of 21 other accused in connection with the incident.
The court was scheduled to deliver the verdict today. It stated that the pronouncement of the judgment is in its final stages. Legal representatives from both sides have submitted thousands of pages of Supreme Court judgments in reference to this case.
Vinay Kulkarni and the other accused persons were present in court.
Vinay Kulkarni is listed as the 15th accused. The state government handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). At the time the allegations surfaced, Kulkarni was serving as a minister and district in-charge minister.
Yogesh Gowda was murdered by a group of assailants at a gym in Dharwad city on June 15, 2016. He had politically challenged Kulkarni, and the incident soon took a worse turn.
Kulkarni was arrested in 2020 and released on bail in 2021. He was accused of influencing witnesses, following which the CBI sought cancellation of his bail, alleging violation of bail conditions. The court accepted the plea and revoked his bail.
Subsequently, Kulkarni, who is currently the Chairman of the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board, surrendered before the authorities and was recently released on bail again.
It may be recalled that Kulkarni was accused of conspiring in the murder of Yogesh Gowda. At the time, he was a Cabinet minister in the Siddaramaiah-led government. Although his name surfaced, no action was initially taken against him.
The BJP later made it a major issue, with former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa vowing at election rallies that Kulkarni would be sent to jail if the BJP came to power.
The case was subsequently handed over to the CBI, and Kulkarni was arrested. He spent more than nine months in jail before securing bail from the Supreme Court.