The Supreme Court has dismissed a review petition filed by actress Pavithra Gowda seeking reconsideration of its August 14 judgment that revoked the bail granted to her, actor Darshan, and other accused in the high-profile Renukaswamy murder case.
A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, examining the plea in chambers, concluded that there was no ground to reopen the matter. “We have carefully gone through the said order and the record. In our opinion, no case for review is made out. Consequently, the review petitions are dismissed,” the bench said in its November 6 order. The court also declined Gowda’s request for an open-court hearing.
The case stems from the alleged abduction and murder of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, who was said to have sent obscene messages to Gowda. According to police, Darshan, Gowda, and others detained the victim in a shed in Bengaluru for three days in June 2024, subjected him to torture, and later dumped his body in a drain. The Karnataka High Court had granted bail to the accused on December 13, 2024.
However, the Supreme Court on August 14, 2025, quashed the bail orders, observing that the rule of law applies equally to all citizens regardless of fame or wealth. The bench had remarked that “in a democracy governed by the rule of law, no individual was exempted from legal accountability on the basis of status or social capital,” emphasizing that celebrity status cannot shield an accused from due process.
The state government had approached the apex court challenging the high court’s bail orders, leading to their cancellation. With the dismissal of Gowda’s review plea, the Supreme Court’s earlier judgment stands confirmed, and the accused remain without bail in the ongoing murder trial.
