Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court Grants Bail To Gauri Lankesh Murder Accuse Mohan Nayak

Mohan Nayak, a key accused in the murder case of journalist Gauri Lankesh, was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court Saturday. Gauri was shot outside her house in Bengaluru in 2017 and the accused has been in jail since then. The police accused Nayak as a co-conspirator in the murder.

In view of the Karnataka Control of Organized Crime Act of 2000, Justice Vishwajith Shetty granted bail to Nayak he has already spent five years behind bars and delayed in the proceedings.

Nayak is the first accused out of 11 to get bail in the case and has been asked to furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties. The court has also directed him to appear whenever called.

"He had conspired with the other accused persons to murder deceased Gauri Lankesh and in furtherance of such conspiracy, he had taken a house for rent at Ramanagara in an isolated place and had given shelter in the said house to accused number 2 & 3 who are the actual assailants in the present case," Police allegations filed against Nayak reads.

Karnataka High Court's judgment reads "In the present case, out of 527 charge sheet witnesses, only 90 witnesses have been examined. This Court on 11.02.2019 directed the Trial Court to expedite the trial. Though charges were framed in the present case on 30.10.2021, for the last more than two years, only 90 witnesses have been examined. There are more than 400 charge sheet witnesses who are yet to be examined in the case. Even if it is assumed that all the witnesses mentioned in the charge sheet may not be examined in the case, because only 90 witnesses have been examined for the last more than two years, it can be safely presumed that any time soon, the trial of the case may not be completed."