Mumbai, September 1: Kannada actor Darshan has approached the Karnataka High Court to contest a trial court’s decision regarding the Renukaswamy murder case. The trial court had permitted accused number 14, Prodos, to become a government witness. Darshan’s petition questions this decision and seeks to halt Prodos’s status as an approver.
On August 25, the 59th City Civil and Sessions Court in Bengaluru approved Prodos’s request to become an approver in the case. The court granted him immunity under certain conditions, allowing him to testify as a government witness.
Following this, the trial court issued a summons for Prodos to record his statement as a witness. Darshan has now challenged this decision in the High Court, arguing that the procedures and legal basis for making Prodos an approver should be scrutinized.
Darshan’s petition also raises questions about the technical and legal processes the court followed in granting Prodos’s request to become an approver. The actor is seeking a stay on the entire decision.
Both the Karnataka High Court and the trial court have previously stated that Darshan and the other co-accused do not have the legal right to participate in or oppose the immunity proceedings. According to the courts, the rights of co-accused come into play only after the approver’s statement is recorded and the cross-examination process begins.
Darshan’s petition now challenges this process and the decision to make Prodos an approver.
In June 2024, the body of 33-year-old Renukaswamy was discovered near a drain in Bengaluru. Allegations suggest that Renukaswamy, a resident of Chitradurga, was abducted, assaulted, tortured, and subsequently murdered. The case gained significant attention when the names of actor Darshan and actress Pavitra Gowda emerged during the investigation. Several accused have been arrested by the police during the probe. Darshan is currently in jail in connection with this case.
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