New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday February 7 refused to entertain a plea by former Karnataka Minister and senior Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni, challenging the CBI probe into the 2016 murder of a BJP worker in Dharwad.
Dismissing the petition by Kulkarni, a bench of Justices U.U. Lalit, S. Ravindra Bhat and P.S. Narasimha said: “We see no reason to interfere.”
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Kulkarni, submitted before the bench that the state government could not have issued the order for CBI probe, when the trial in the matter was already complete.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing co-accused and maternal uncle of Kulkarni Chandrashekhar Indi, submitted that if the government is allowed to reopen cases, then it would be a dangerous principle of law.
Rohatgi argued that the decision would mean reinvestigation and retrial, which would result in negation of his client’s rights and also the violation of law.
Senior advocate Devdatt Kamat, assisted by advocates Rajesh Inamdar and Sharangouda Patil, also argued for Kulkarni.
After hearing arguments, the bench said every criminal case depended on peculiar facts and declined to entertain the petition.
In June 2016, Yogeshgouda Goudar, a member of district Panchayat, was hacked to death at his gym in Saptapur in Dharwad after being immobilised with chilli powder. The victim’s family members suspected Kulkarni’s role into the murder.
In September 2019, the B.S. Yeddyurappa government ordered the CBI probe. In February 2020, the top court stayed the Karnataka High Court order passed in November 2019, where it suspended the probe by the central agency into the matter.
