BENGALURU: The Special Court on Tuesday rejected former minister and Congress Dharwad candidate Vinay R Kulkarni’s application, seeking relaxation of the order restraining him from entering Dharwad district, in connection with the murder of BJP’s Zilla Panchayat member Yogesh Gowda in 2016.
Special court judge B Jayantha Kumar rejected Kulkarni’s application, saying this is not a fit case to relax the condition.
“Upon verification of records and facts of the offence alleged against him, the Supreme Court has imposed the condition that he should not go to Dharwad district. The trial is yet to start, and if this court permits the accused to go to Dharwad for 50 days, the trial’s purpose would be frustrated,” the court said.
The court also noted that though the chargesheet was filed in 2021, the court has not been able to frame charges against him.
The Supreme Court has not considered the prayer for relaxation of condition barring him from entering Dharwad district. Kulkarni said that the condition will cause irreparable damage to his political career. Kulkarni’s wife had already submitted nomination papers on his behalf.