'Prolonged incarceration to spell death knell for entire acting career,' Darshan urges SC to grant bail

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is set to take up on Monday a plea by Kannada film actor Darshan, seeking bail in the 2024 Renukaswamy murder case, on the ground that his prolonged incarceration would cause death knell to his acting profession in violation of his fundamental rights.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Vijay Bishnoi would on May 4 consider his writ petition, also highlighting how media channels in Karnataka were recreating court proceedings affecting his right to fair trial.

Notably, the top court had on August 14, 2025 cancelled the bail granted to him and other accused including Pavithra Gowda.

His plea contended since the judgment passed by this court in August 2025, almost eight months have elapsed wherein the petitioner has been in judicial custody and has undergone custody for a total period of almost one year till date. 

"It is a matter of fact that there are a total of 262 witness out of which only 10 witnesses have be examined and it is obvious that the trial would take a very long time to complete and the petitioner would be subjected to a long incarceration thus depriving his personal liberty, dignity and equality, and his fundamental rights under Article 14 and Article 21," it contended. 

This coupled with the fact that since the bail is cancelled by this court, the lower courts will not entertain our bail application, prompting him to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this court by filing the instant writ petition, the plea said.

His plea also stated since the trial is likely to be a prolonged one, his incarceration, pending the entire trial would also have an irreparably adverse impact on his livelihood and his right to carry on his trade and profession. As a successful actor, he was being signed on, on an average, in about 2-3 movies each year. Even at the time of surrender, he had signed three movies. 

"His entire livelihood stands jeopardized, if he is incarcerated indefinitely until the end of a prolonged trial. Especially considering the nature of the petitioner's profession, a prolonged incarceration where the trial is pending, would spell a death-knell for his career and is thus an unreasonable restriction on his right to carry on his trade and profession," his plea said.

His petition also contended that media channels in Bengaluru have been recreating court proceedings and the alleged crime scene by using graphics and Al-prompted animations and holding panel discussions weighing the evidence recorded by the Trial Court. 

"The actions of the media channels infringe upon his fundamental right to fair trial under Article 21 of the Constitution as they blur the lines between reportage and adjudication, potentially influencing witnesses...even if the petitioner would approach any court in the state of Karnataka seeking bail, he apprehends that because of the media trial he would not get a unprejudiced hearing and also the hearing of the bail application shall be kept pending for a long period," it said.

His plea also claimed after the cancellation of his bail, he has been meted out with harsh and inhuman treatment by the jail authorities. 

After the apex court's order that the jail superintendent will be placed under suspension if the accused persons are provided with special treatment within the jail premises, the petitioner has been deprived even the basic amenities and family visits, and was thus being discriminated against, vis-avis other prisoners, the plea alleged.

"Since being under judicial custody, the petitioner is being discriminated vis-a-vis other prisoners as he has not been allowed to receive/purchase food, clothing and bedding from private sources as permitted under the Karnataka Prison Act, 1963. These actions are in gross violation, not only of the jail manual, rules and regulations governing the conduct of jail authorities, but are inhuman and violate Article 21 of the Constitution," it said.

His plea also stated that the regular physiotherapy was advised to the petitioner by a Physiotherapist vetted by the Central Prison on October 10, 2025 which was conveyed to the Chief Superintendent of the Central Jail by the Chief Medical Officer, Central Prison Hospital, however as of yet he has only received physiotherapy 2-3 times even though he is still suffering with back pain.

Darshan, a 48-year-old Kannada actor, was first arrested on June 11, 2024 in connection with the murder of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a native of Chitradurga. 

The victim’s body was discovered near a stormwater drain in Bengaluru on June 9, 2024.

According to the police, Renukaswamy had allegedly sent obscene messages to Darshan’s associate, Pavithra Gowda, which enraged the actor.

Police investigation led to the arrest of actor Darshan, his close friend Pavithra Gowda and 15 other associates.