Darshan fans accused of sending abusive messages to actress and ex-Congress MP Ramya get bail

The bench also took into account the youth of the accused while granting them bail.

Ramya had been vocal about the Renukaswamy case in which Darshan, his friend Pavithra Gowda, and others are accused of murdering a man who had allegedly sent objectionable messages to Gowda. The actress made social media comments after the Supreme Court set aside the bail granted by the high court to Darshan.

Darshan fans who allegedly sent the abusive messages to Ramya were booked under sections of the Information Technology Act as well as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to criminal intimidation, sexual harassment, and words intended to outrage the modesty of a woman.

The counsel for the Darshan fans contended that all the charges except for sexual harassment, which attracted only a one-year sentence, were bailable. They also submitted that, as per Supreme Court precedent, there could not be an arrest without grounds in cases where the punishment is imprisonment for fewer than seven years.

Other contentions raised included the youth of the accused, the facts that there could not be evidence tampering as the interaction was online and that since the complainant was an influential person, there would be no question of there being a threat to her.
Opposing the bail pleas, the state counsel argued that there were serious allegations against the accused including threats of rape and murder, adding that there was a possibility of witness tampering or further threats.

The court granted bail, directing the actor’s fans to deposit a bond of Rs 1 lakh, cooperate with the investigation, and appear before the jurisdictional court on prescribed dates.