SC junks actress Pavithra Gowda’s review plea in murder case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea filed by actress Pavithra Gowda seeking review of its August 14 verdict which cancelled the bail granted to her, actor Darshan and other accused persons in the Renukaswamy murder case.

Darshan, along with Gowda and several others, is accused of abducting and torturing 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan who allegedly sent obscene messages to Gowda.

The police alleged the victim was held in a shed in Bengaluru for three days in June 2024 and tortured, and later his body was recovered from a drain.

The review plea filed by Gowda came up for consideration before a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan.

“We have carefully gone through the said order and the record. In our opinion, no case for review is made out. Consequently, the review petitions are dismissed,” the bench said in its November 6 order.

The bench, which considered the matter in-chamber, also rejected the application seeking listing of the review pleas in open court.

In its August 14 verdict, the apex court set aside the Karnataka High Court order of grant of bail, noting that in a democracy governed by the rule of law, no individual was exempted from legal accountability on the basis of “status or social capital”.

“The Constitution of India enshrines equality before law under Article 14, and mandates that no individual, however wealthy, influential, or famous can claim exemption from the rigours of law. A celebrity status does not elevate an accused above the law, nor entitle him to preferential treatment in matters like grant of bail,” it had said.

The high court December 13, 2024 granted bail to the actor and other accused persons in the case.

The top court’s August 14 judgement came on an appeal filed by the Karnataka government against the high court order.

 

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