In a major setback for actor Darshan, the Supreme Court has cancelled the bail granted to him and six others by the Karnataka High Court, ordering that they return to judicial custody.
Along with Darshan, bail for Pavithra Gowda, Jagadish alias Jagga, Anukumar alias Anu, Pradosh, Nagaraju alias Naga, and Lakshman were also cancelled.
The two-judge bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan observed that the High Court’s earlier order had “technical flaws” and that the bail was wrongly granted. Stressing that “no one is above the law,” the court noted, “Regardless of an accused’s stature, the law treats everyone equally. Five-star treatment has been extended to the accused in jail. The jail superintendent should have been suspended.”
The Supreme Court emphasised that legal authority must prevail over influence or status. The prosecution argued that the Supreme Court had accepted evidence they presented, which included details of Darshan’s special treatment in prison and his conduct after release.
Darshan was first arrested on June 11 last year and spent over five months in jail before being released on medical grounds. In December, the High Court granted him full bail — a decision challenged by the Karnataka government in the Supreme Court.
The apex court had earlier criticised the High Court for its reasoning in granting bail, and after several days of hearings, has now delivered its verdict.
For the actor’s fans, this outcome is a huge disappointment. Darshan has already completed shooting and dubbing for his upcoming film Devil, directed by Prakash Veer. The film, backed by Shri Jaimatha Combines, is currently in post-production. A song from the movie, 'Edre Nambadiyaag Irbek', was released ahead of Independence Day. It now remains to be seen whether the makers will go ahead with further song releases and if the film will hit theatres this year.
