Bengaluru court rejects Darshan’s physical presence plea, allows VC

A Bengaluru court has rejected a plea by Kannada actor Darshan and three other accused in the Renukaswamy murder case seeking permission to be physically present at every hearing. The court directed them to attend proceedings via video conference, citing guidelines that the term 'court' includes both physical and virtual courts.

The special public prosecutor told the Times of India that the court observed that videoconferencing can be used at all stages of judicial proceedings. The court also referred to the high court guidelines in the Abdul Bashir vs NIA case, which directed prison authorities to provide robust videoconferencing facilities.

On August 13, the Karnataka high court dismissed Darshan's petition challenging a sessions court order that refused to let him raise objections to co-accused Pradosh Rao's plea seeking pardon and to turn approver. Justice M Nagaprasanna held that a co-accused has no right to make submissions when a court considers another accused's application under Section 306 of CrPC. Darshan, his friend Pavithra Gowda, and 15 others are accused in the case, Darshan remains in judicial custody.