Gauri Lankesh murder case: Slain journalist’s sister moves SC to oppose bail granted to accused

The special investigation team probing the case is also in the process of filing an appeal against the bail order, police sources said, adding that the matter was before a panel in the law department.

Nayak, 56, became the first accused in the Lankesh murder case to get bail when the high court granted him the relief on December 7, 2023, citing the delay in the trial and indicating that the charges under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA) invoked against him did not attract a life sentence or a death sentence.

Since the delay in the trial that began in July 2022, four years after his arrest, cannot be attributed to the accused, he is entitled to bail, the court held.

Previous bail pleas filed by Mohan Nayak, who is associated with the right-wing Sanatan Sanstha, were rejected by the high court and district courts.

In October 2021 the Supreme Court overturned a high court decision to drop the KCOCA charges against him, following an appeal filed by Kavitha Lankesh.