Social status no basis for bail

The Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday ordering revocation of bail for cinestar Darshan Thoogudeepa granted by the Karnataka High Court reaffirms the trust in the old adage “how soever high you may be, the majesty of law is above you”.

The ruling has pointed out that the High Court’s granting of bail on December 13, 2024 suffers from serious legal infirmities and asserted that the rule of law demanded that no leniency should have been shown to the murder accused on the basis of his social status and popularity.

It termed the HC ruling as mechanical exercise of discretion ignoring the seriousness of the crime. The apex court ruling is a firm endorsement that law and appliers of law should be guided by the nature of the crime and provisions of law regardless of the accused person’s social and economic status.

Besides Darshan, the ruling directed that other accused named in the case i.e., actress Pavitra, and allies Pradoosh S. Rao, Lakshman and Nagaraju be arrested and sent to jail in Bengaluru. The apex court also took notice of the VIP treatment offered to the actor and his accomplices and warned the jail authorities that repetition of such misdemean ours would result in suspension of the Jail Superintendent and the lower functionaries.

Cellphone videos gone viral had shown the actor and the co-accused smoking in the open space while relaxing on armchairs within the jail premises. The scene carried the impression that the accused were having a happy time inside the premises.

The ruling comes as a cathartic exercise of law where equality before the law takes primacy. It should come as a directive for courts at the lower level to consider the gravity of the offence rather than the offender’s status while adjudicating criminal cases.