Congress MLA, 16 others get life term in 2016 murder case in Karnataka

ASpecial margaret court in Bengaluru on fri sentenced u.s. Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni and 16 others to life-time internment in the 2016 BJP leader Yogeshgouda Goudar murder case.On Wednesday, Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, the Judge of the Special Court for cases involving elected representatives, convicted Kulkarni and others under Sections 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.Channakeshava B. Tingarikar, the investigating officer at the time (accused no. 19), was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for destruction of evidence. Two accused, Vasudev Rama Nilekani and Somashekhar Nyamagowda, were acquitted on the benefit of doubt. Kulkarni and another accused, Chandrasekhar Indi, were acquitted of charges under the Arms Act.The court directed that ₹16 lakh from the fines imposed on the convicts be paid as compensation to the victim’s children, with the remaining amount forfeited to the State. It added that failure to pay fines would invite an additional three months of imprisonment.For related offences, the court awarded separate sentences. Several accused were sentenced to six months’ simple imprisonment and fined ₹2,000 each for unlawful assembly. For rioting and rioting with deadly weapons, they were given one year of rigorous imprisonment along with fines. For destruction of evidence, the court imposed up to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment and fines of ₹30,000.The case pertains to the killing of Goudar, a BJP zilla panchayat member, in Dharwad on June 15, 2016. Kulkarni was a minister at that time.Hired assailants attacked and hacked Goudar to death in his gym at Saptapur in Dharwad. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the assailants immobilised the victim by throwing chilli powder in his eyes before attacking him with lethal weapons. A first information report was registered at the Dharwad Suburban Police Station shortly after the incident.The investigation was initially conducted by the Karnataka police, which arrested six people. Following demands from Goudar’s family and others, the then-BJP government transferred the case to the CBI in 2019. Subsequently, the central agency filed a chargesheet invoking offences including conspiracy, murder, unlawful assembly, rioting with deadly weapons, destruction of evidence, illegal possession and trafficking of arms, and misconduct by a public servant.Kulkarni was arrested by the CBI on November 5, 2020. The Supreme Court granted him conditional bail on August 11, 2021. However, on June 7, 2025, the top court cancelled his bail, observing that credible evidence suggested he had tried to influence witnesses during the trial. He was granted bail again in February 2026.Charges against the accused were formally framed on May 26, 2023. During the trial, the court also addressed issues related to witness conduct and procedural irregularities. It granted liberty to the prosecution to seek sanction to prosecute an approver-turned-witness, Shivanand Srishaila Biradar, who later turned hostile. The court also directed the registry to initiate proceedings under Section 340 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against certain police personnel and independent witnesses for alleged perjury or forgery in court proceedings.In a separate order issued alongside the sentencing, the court took note of a request by some of the convicts regarding their custodial conditions. “Since the last 3 days, accused persons have been remanded to Judicial Custody and are in same clothes and to maintain hygiene and health, they (A7 & A15 Kulkarni) have made a request. The request made is justifiable…. At the same time, jail authorities are hereby directed to furnish fresh clothes to the convicted persons as per the Prisons Manual,” said the court.Meanwhile , deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar alleged that Kulkarni was the victim of a conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as he was garnering political significance in north Karnataka.Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Shivakumar said: “I respect the court. But there was a big conspiracy in this case. When the police were about to file a B-report, the CBI was given the case to harass him (Kulkarni). Vinay Kulkarni has become a victim of a BJP conspiracy as he was growing politically in north Karnataka.”He added that the convicted MLA had legal course left to pursue. “I have spoken to his family. He swore on God and told me that he had not done anything wrong... I feel that he has not done anything wrong. He has an opportunity to file an appeal,” he said.Meanwhile, former chief minister BS Yedyurappa told reporters in Chikkamagaluru, “I said what I needed to say when the crime happened, and what I said— that the guilty should be punished and justice should be served— has proven true.”(with PTI inputs)