Gauri Lankesh Murder Case: Karnataka High Court Grants Bail to Three Accused

The Karnataka High Court granted bail on Tuesday to three individuals accused in the 2017 murder of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh

Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty of the Kalaburagi bench approved the bail applications for Amit Digvekar, KT Naveen Kumar, and HL Suresh. The orders had been reserved on July 2.

The three accused sought bail, referencing the case of co-accused Mohan Nayak, who was granted bail in December 2023 due to trial delays. Nayak had pointed out that out of the 527 witnesses listed in the chargesheet, only 90 had been examined.

Despite the State’s opposition, which cited a Dharwad bench decision denying bail to those accused in the murder of scholar and activist MM Kalaburagi, the court approved the bail.

Lankesh was fatally shot by two motorcycle-borne assailants outside her residence in West Bengaluru on the night of September 5, 2017.