Justice S Vishwajith Shetty of the Kalaburagi bench approved the bail for Amit Digvekar, KT Naveen Kumar, and HL Suresh. This decision followed the reservation of orders on their bail applications on July 2.

Karnataka: Today (16th July): The Karnataka High Court has granted bail to three individuals accused in the 2017 murder of activist–journalist Gauri Lankesh._ Justice S Vishwajith Shetty of the Kalaburagi bench approved the bail for Amit Digvekar, KT Naveen Kumar, and HL Suresh. This decision followed the reservation of orders on their bail applications on July 2.
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The three accused referenced the case of co–accused Mohan Nayak, who was granted bail in December 2023 due to delays in the trial. Nayak’s bail was justified by the slow progress of the case, with only 90 out of 527 chargesheet witnesses examined.
The State opposed the bail pleas, pointing to a previous decision by the Dharawad bench of the High Court that denied bail to those accused in the murder of scholar and activist MM Kalaburagi.
READ ALSO: Karnataka High Court Grants Bail in Gauri Lankesh Case
Gauri Lankesh, a renowned journalist and editor of the Kannada tabloid ‘Lankesh Patrike,’ was tragically shot dead outside her Bengaluru residence in 2017. This incident sparked a widespread investigation, leading to the filing of a chargesheet, with further investigations continuing.
Gauri Lankesh was shot by two motorcycle-borne assassins outside her West Bengaluru home on the night of September 5, 2017.
Nayak, arrested in 2018 and labeled as accused No.11, is alleged to have played a role in the conspiracy, specifically accused of harboring the individuals who executed the murder.