BJP's Yogesh Goudar Murder| Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni & 15 Others Sentenced To Life Imprisonment By Bengaluru Court

In the BJP Leader Yogesh Goudar Murder case, Congress MLA and Former Minister of the State, Vinay Kulkarni, has been sentenced to life imprisonment and Rupees 30,000 fine for the offences under Section 302 IPC r/w 120B IPC.

Special Court Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat pronounced the quantum of sentence at 4.20 PM today [April 17] when the accused, including Vinay Kulkarni, was physically present before the court.

The accused, if they fail to pay the fine amount, would be required to undergo further imprisonment for three months.

The court has also awarded Rs 16 lakhs as compensation to the children of the deceased BJP Leader. A2-16 and A18 in the case have been awarded with life imprisonment. A-19, -Chennakeshva Tingarikar, the investigating officer at the time, has been sentenced to 7 years of jail time.

"Since the last 3 days, accused persons have been remanded to Judicial Custody and are in same clothes and to maintain the hygiene and health, they(A7 & A15 Kulkarni) have made a request. The request made is justifiable....At the same time, jail authorities are hereby directed to furnish fresh clothes to the convicted persons as per Prisons Manual and till such period of time if the manual permits, they may be using fresh clothes provided by their family members..", the court ordered today in addition to the quantum of sentence.

Pertinently, Section 8(3) of the Representation of People's Act (RPA), 1951 mentions that a sentence of at least two years in a criminal case could result in electoral disqualification unless a higher court stays the conviction itself.

The Central Bureau of Investigation told a Bengaluru court on Thursday (April 16) that life imprisonment without remission must be awarded to Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni and others who were convicted for the murder of BJP leader Yogesh Goudar.

On April 15, the special court convicted Vinay Kulkarni and sixteen others in the murder case of Yogesh Gowda. The court convicted Kulkarni and others of criminal conspiracy and murder.

"The sentence must be such that it reflects the gravity of the wrong and the need to protect society... I am not for the death penalty in this case, but a sentence for the remainder of life without remission should be passed….The offence of murder, which extinguishes life, the law must respond with commensurate gravity. My submission is that the sentence must be most severe and legally permissible in law," the ASG had submitted yesterday[April 16].

As per reports, accused number 1- Basavaraj Muttagi and accused No. 17-Shivanada Shrishaila Biradar had turned approvers. Additionally, the court acquitted accused No. 20 Vasudev and accused No. 21 Somashekhar Nyamagoud, giving them the benefit of doubt.

Yogesh Goudar, a zilla panchayat member of the BJP from Hebballi constituency, was murdered by an armed gang at his gym in Saptapur in Dharwad in 2016. An FIR was registered with the Dharwad Sub-Urban Police Station at the instance of the deceased's wife. The Dharwad Police subsequent to his murder arrested six persons and charge sheeted them for murder. The probe was later transferred to CBI.

On December 6, 2023 the Special Court framed charges against all the accused including the petitioner for offences punishable under sections 143, 147, 148, 120-B, 302, 201 read with Section 149 of IPC and also for the offences punishable under Section 25 read with Sections 3, 5, 8 and 29 of the Arms Act, 1959.

On April 8, 2024, the High Court upheld the charge framed by the Special Court against Kulkarni and 20 others. In June, 2024 the Supreme Court dismissed the SLP filed against the High Court order

Arrested on November 5, 2020, Vinay Kulkarni has been in judicial custody in the Hindalga Jail of Belagavi since his bail plea was rejected twice, first by a lower court and then by the High Court.

Case Title: CBI v. Basavaraj & Ors.

Case No: Spl CC 565/2021