'Has Become A Gambling Court': SC Upholds Framing Of Charges Against Karnataka Congress MLA in Murder Case

The Supreme Court has upheld the decision of a trial court in Karnataka to frame charges against Karnataka Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni in the murder case of former BJP worker Yogesh Goudar. After the lawyer representing Kulkarni realised the court was not inclined to entertain his plea, he urged the bench to allow him to withdraw it. At this, an upset Justice Kumar retorted: "This court has become a gambling court".

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Monday upheld an order passed by a trial court in Karnataka, directing framing of charges against Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni in the murder case of Yogesh Goudar, a BJP worker and an elected member of Dharwad Zilla Panchayat, who was killed at his gym in June 2016.

A bench comprising justices PV Sanjay Kumar and Augustine George Masih declined to interfere with an order passed by the Karnataka High Court, which had upheld the trial court order. The bench expressed its unwillingness to entertain the plea and observed that it was very clear that Kulkarni had "bought over" the widow of the deceased.

Since the court was not inclined to entertain the plea, Senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, representing Kulkarni, urged the bench to allow him to withdraw it. At this, an upset Justice Kumar retorted: "This court has become a gambling court".

Initially, the Karnataka police probed the case and arrested six persons. In 2019, the BJP government transferred the case to the CBI, which in 2020 arrested Kulkarni. A chargesheet was filed, and the trial court framed charges against him in December 2023.

In April this year, the high court dismissed the petition moved by Kulkarni challenging the order framing charges against him. The high court had noted that Kulkarni, who was then a Minister, had conspired with his close associates and other accused for Goudar’s murder following an altercation during a Panchayat meeting held in April 2016.

The high court had requested the special court to accomplish the trial and dispose of the case of the petitioner within three months, saying a case of this kind should be disposed of “before memory fades”, at least as a concession to the shortness of human life.

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