Supreme Court upholds framing of charge against Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni in BJP worker's murder

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the decision of a trial court in Karnataka to frame charges against Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni in the murder case of former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker Yogesh Goudar [Vinay Rajashekarappa Kulkarni v. Central Bureau of Investigation]. .A Vacation Bench of Justices PV Sanjay Kumar and Augustine George Masih refused to interfere with the decision of the Karnataka High Court which too had upheld the trial court order.The top court was of the view that it was very clear and obvious that Kulkarni had 'bought over' the widow of the deceased.Seeing that the Court was not inclined to entertain the plea, Senior Advocate Siddhartha Dave, who appeared for Kulkarni, sought to withdraw the plea. To this, a miffed Justice Kumar responded by saying,"This court has become a gambling court"..Goudar, an elected member of Dharwad Zilla Panchayat, was killed at his gym in June 2016. The case was initially probed by the Karnataka Police and six persons were arrested. While the trial was on, the BJP government transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2019.Kulkarni was arrested by the CBI in 2020. He was chargesheeted later and the trial court framed charges against him in December 2023..The Karnataka High Court on April 8 dismissed the petition moved by Kulkarni challenging the order framing charges against him. The High Court said 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 agreed with the argument made by prosecution that involvement of the accused can be ascertained from his conduct before and after the commission of the crime, with there being material to link Kulkarni with offences punishable under Arms Act.The High Court also commented on the protracted trial in the case and took note of the fact that the accused including Kulkarni had moved the courts several times since the incident happened in 2016..After the High Court dismissed his plea, Kulkarni approached the apex court with the present plea which came to be dismissed today. .Kulkarni's appeal was filed through S-Legal Associates..[Read Live Coverage]