While refusing to interfere with the charges framed by a special court against MLA Vinay R. Kulkarni in a 2016 murder case, the High Court of Karnataka has asked the special court to accomplish the trial and dispose of the criminal case against him preferably within three months.
The High Court said that the charges framed by the special court set up exclusively to deal with criminal cases against former and present MPs and MLAs show that due process was undertaken by the judge of the special court.
Justice Krishna S. Dixit passed the order while dismissing the petition filed by Mr. Kulkanri, who is presently Congress MLA for Dharwad constituency. The petitioner had questioned the correctness of the charges framed by the special court against him on December 6, 2023.
“Ideally speaking, the impugned order (charges framed by the special court) could have been scripted bit elaborately and in a reasoned way. There is scope for improvement even in heaven, said Oscar Wilde, an Irish Writer (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900),” the High Court said while rejecting the petitioner’s contention that charges could not be sustained for want of proper reasoning.
The argument that “there is absolutely no material to connect the petitioner to the commission of offences and therefore, no charge could have been framed against him, is difficult to countenance. The case of prosecution against the petitioner is one of circumstantial evidence that galores on record,” the High Court observed.
Court refuses claim
Meanwhile, the High Court refused to accept the claim of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that Mr. Kulkarni abused the process of law by filling petition after petition challenging the criminal proceedings.
However, the High Court said that trial of the criminal case against the petitioner requires to be conducted on a war footing basis as the case is of 2016.
Mr. Kulkarni is facing the charges of murdering BJP’s Yogesh Goudar, who was a member of Dharwad Zilla Panchayat, through hired killers, and tampering of the witnesses, influencing the police officer, changing the public prosecutor, diverting the police and investigation by ensuring surrendering of some other persons as culprits, and threatening wife of the victim.
Initially the case was investigated by the local police, who had filed charge sheet only against six persons and not against Mr. Kulkarni. However, in 2019, the case was transferred to the CBI, which filed the charge sheet against 21 accused, including Mr. Kulkarni.
