Aishwarya Gowda fraud cases: Karnataka HC to decide on arrest after sessions court rejects anticipatory bail pleas

A single-judge bench of Justice S R Krishna Kumar then directed the sessions court to dispose of the pending anticipatory bail applications of Gowda and her husband at the earliest.

An anticipatory bail application filed by Gowda and her husband was rejected by a magistrate court last month. Gowda, who allegedly claimed high political connections while duping people of their gold, is accused in four cheating cases.

A year of legal protection

The Bengaluru police first arrested Gowda and her husband in December 2024 in one case, but the HC granted them bail because the police had not provided reasons at the time of the arrest, as mandated by the Supreme Court.

Gowda and others have enjoyed protection from arrest for nearly one year after the HC granted protection early last year, when Gowda approached the HC seeking to quash the FIRs registered against her in Bengaluru and Mandya. The HC kept the protection in place even as the petitions for quashing the FIRs filed by Gowda were allowed to be withdrawn on April 15, 2025.

However, after the prosecution pointed out that the Supreme Court has stated that protection against arrest cannot be sustained if a plea is disposed of, the April 15, 2025, order was recalled, and the withdrawn petitions were reinstated on April 23, 2025, with the continuation of the interim orders of protection from arrest.

The HC bench stated on February 16 this year after a magistrate’s court expressed doubts over the legality of the interim protection granted by the HC that “the interim order passed by this Court directing the respondent-prosecution not to take precipitative/coercive steps against the petitioners or arrest them pending disposal of the present petition, has no nexus or connection and is neither relevant nor material for the purpose of the Magistrate considering the bail applications in accordance with law.”

Last year, the special state prosecutor told the HC that the CID was unable to complete investigations into the cases against Gowda and others due to the HC’s orders on the probe, and sought orders to continue the probe against others apart from Aishwarya Gowda.

Scam posing as a wealthy businesswoman

The woman allegedly posed as a wealthy real estate dealer to gain access to wealthy people like doctors, businessmen and politicians before targeting some of them for fraud. She allegedly used a suite at a luxury hotel in north Bengaluru to convey the impression of being very wealthy. She had bodyguards and a fleet of luxury cars to further the impression of being a wealthy businesswoman.

Gowda often allegedly posed as the sister of Karnataka Congress leader D K Suresh and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar to gain access to wealthy doctors and businessmen.

Among the people Gowda is alleged to have cheated is the owner of a jewellery store, Vanitha Aithal, who has accused Gowda of taking gold and money worth over Rs eight crore with the promise of high returns and then betraying her trust. Two doctors who run a plastic surgery centre, a maternity doctor, and a businessman’s family in Mandya have also accused Gowda.

Gowda is also accused of using police contacts to access the call record details of her alleged victims. All cases against Gowda were handed to the CID police in 2025.

Money trail and political links

Last year, on April 24, the ED arrested Gowda on charges of laundering the money she allegedly obtained by cheating people. The ED attached properties worth Rs 3.98 crore following its probe into the money laundering aspect of the police cases.

The ED found that Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni gave Gowda a loan of Rs 24 crore. Gowda is alleged to have failed to return the money to Kulkarni and later negotiated a deal for influencing a witness in a murder case in which the MLA is accused. She is also alleged to have been involved in a Rs 60 crore transaction with Congress leader Tibbegowda.