Karnataka High Court Quashes Order Granting Approver Status to Co-Accused in Darshan's Murder Case

In a significant legal turn, the High Court of Karnataka on September 8 set aside a trial court's order granting conditional pardon to co-accused Pradosh Rao in the Renukaswamy murder case involving Sandalwood actor Darshan Thoogudeepa. Justice M. Nagaprasanna, presiding over a single-judge bench, delivered the ruling after partly allowing a criminal petition filed by Darshan challenging the trial court's August 25 decision to accept Pradosh as an approver. The High Court cited procedural aberrations in how the LVIII Additional City Civil and Sessions Court handled the application under Section 307 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The lower court had also called for a report from a probation officer regarding Pradosh's conduct, which the High Court obliterated. Remitting the matter back to the trial court, Justice Nagaprasanna instructed the judge to pass a fresh order within one week in accordance with established legal procedures, clarifying that no new oral arguments or hearings would be required. Darshan and his associate Pavithra Gowda are among the 17 accused currently in judicial custody over the June 2024 abduction and murder of 33-year-old Renukaswamy in Bengaluru. The ruling temporarily halts the prosecution's effort to use Pradosh as an approver witness, ensuring strict adherence to due process in one of Sandalwood's most high-profile trials.