4 months ago
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The Supreme Court connected Thursday (February 12, 2026) refused to intervene successful a Karnataka High Court decision refusing to assistance anticipatory bail to BJP MLA B.A. Basavaraj (Byrathi Basavaraj) successful the July 2025 execution of Shivaprakash alias Bikla Shiva, a realtor-cum-rowdy-sheeter, portion highlighting the adjacent nexus betwixt land-grabbers and politicians.
“Land-grabbers person governmental protection. It is existent the nationalist cognition is that land-grabbers person 1 oregon the different protection,” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant remarked.
The Bench, besides comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, gave the MLA liberty to use for regular bail aft surrendering successful the case.
Senior advocator Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Mr. Basavaraj, said his lawsuit was not an MLA of the ruling enactment but of the absorption party, and hence was slapped with organised transgression charges also.
Senior advocator Siddharth Luthra, for the Karnataka government, submitted that the apex tribunal bid allowing Mr. Basavaraj liberty to question regular bail should not enactment against the State’s close to question his constabulary custody and interrogation.
MLA denies charges
Mr. Rohatgi began his arguments wholly denying the charges against his client. “I americium not progressive successful the spot dispute. The spot is not adjacent wrong my constituency. I americium a four-time MLA,” helium submitted connected behalf of the MLA.
The CJI, however, said determination was an constituent of conspiracy alleged against the MLA.
“Not a scrap of worldly to suggest that I had thing to bash with the property. The High Court had earlier granted maine interim protection,” Mr. Rohatgi submitted.
The Bench pointed retired that the deceased was killed successful the beingness of his mother. However, Mr. Rohatgi said she had ne'er said she had seen the MLA astatine the spot.
“Your modular is not that you volition spell determination with a weapon. You person galore service-providers,” Chief Justice Kant reacted.
Invocation and quashing of KCOCA
In August 2025, the High Court had fixed Mr. Basavaraj interim extortion asking the constabulary ‘not to instrumentality coercive measurement against him’.
However, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which took implicit probe from the Bengaluru police, invoked provisions of the Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act (KCOCA), 2000, against each the accused persons, including the BJP MLA, during pendency of his petition against the FIR. This led him to record different petition earlier the High Court challenging invocation of KCOCA.
On December 19, 2025, the High Court quashed invocation of KCOCA against the MLA and different accused. However, connected December 23, 2025, the peculiar tribunal of sessions for transgression cases against contiguous and erstwhile MPs and MLAs rejected Mr. Basavaraj’s plea for anticipatory bail stating that the probe against him and different accused was not implicit adjacent though the CID had filed a complaint expanse against the remaining 18 accused persons.
