Supreme Court Seeks Karnataka Response On Actor Darshan's Plea Alleging Denial Of Basic Amenities In Prison

The Supreme Court today(May 4) issued notice in a writ petition filed by actor Darshan, accused in the Renukaswamy Murder Case, raising the issue that he has not been provided with basic amenities which an undertrial is entitled to. He has also raised a plea that the trial is not progressing.

It may be recalled that last year, a bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan had cancelled the bail of actors Darshan, Pavitra Gowda, Nagaraju R., Anu Kumar@Anu, Lakshman M, Jagadeesh@Jagga and Pradoosh S Rao@Pradoosh for allegedly abducting the deceased from Chitradurga and then brutally torturing him before he succumbed to the injuries for three days in a shed in Bengaluru in June 2024. The body of the deceased was later thrown in the drain as per the police report. 

The State of Karnataka filed an appeal challenging the bail granted by the Karnataka High Court, claiming that the actor Darshan was trying to influence the witnesses, and his post-bail conduct was questionable. It was also argued that the High Court erronously considered Darshan's celebrity status as a mitigating circumstance for granting bail.

Agreeing to all these, the Court cancelled the bail and passed serious observations, including a warning to the jail authorities against providing any special treatment to the actor over his celebrity status.

Today, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi(for Darshan) submitted that the undertrial is being denied the basic amenities because the Court had made an observation that no five-star treatment should be given to him in jail.

He said: "This is that case in which mylords were pleased to cancel the bail of this petitioner, he was an actor...10 witnesses [examined] out of 262 and I have spent one year in jail after your lordships order. Now, one very serious issue. Your lordships made an observation in the order that he should not get five star treatment in jail, which is fine and I have no objection to it. [But] because of that direction, I am not even given basic amenities which is given to an ordinary person."

Rohatgi stated that Darshan has been put in a quarantine cell where there is no light, and he is unable to even get food. "I am not getting the food which I can purchase and I everyday I have to go to the Court which says because of the Supreme Court's order."

Considering this, the Court deemed it fit to issue notice and ask for details from the Sessions Court: 

It ordered: "Issue notice. The Registry is directed to call for the report from the 56th Additional CT Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru, in regards to status of Sessions Case no 1391. We would like to know how many witnesses have been examined and how many witnesses the State proposes to examine. We would also like to have a fair idea how much time the Trial Court is likely to take because it is concluded. We would also like to know from the State whether the basic amenities which the undertrial prisoner is entitled to are being provided to the petitioner or not. Registry shall see to it that appropriate reports are received within one week."

Case Details: DARSHAN Vs THE STATE OF KARNATAKA|W.P.(Crl.) No. 159/2026