The Supreme Court of India refused to grant additional time to Karnataka Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni to surrender on June 13, 2025, in connection with the 2016 murder of BJP leader Yogesh Gowda.

A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justices Manmohan declined the request after Kulkarni's counsel sought an extension citing his responsibilities as a sitting MLA and chairman of the Karnataka Water Supply Board.

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"I am seeking an extension because I am a sitting MLA and chairman… I have to attend a meeting scheduled this week, my lords," the counsel appearing for Kulkarni said.

The bench, however, was not inclined to entertain the plea and upheld the original direction to surrender.

Earlier, on June 6, another Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma had cancelled Vinay Kulkarni's bail in view of violation of bail conditions.

The Supreme Court in its June 6 order said, "There is sufficient material on record to suggest that there has been an attempt by the respondent to contact witnesses or influence such witnesses." The court had directed Kulkarni to surrender before the trial court or jail authority within a week and directed that the trial be conducted expeditiously without being influenced by the court's observations.

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The case relates to the murder of Yogesh Gowda, BJP district panchayat member from Hebballi, who was killed by an armed gang at his gym in Saptapur in Dharwad on June 15, 2016.

After the murder, the Dharwad police initially arrested six people and filed a chargesheet against them. Under pressure from BJP leaders and Yogesh Gowda's brother Gurunath Gowda, a CBI probe was ordered after the BJP came to power in the state.

The CBI took over the case on September 24, 2019 and later arrested eight more accused, including Kulkarni. The chargesheet was filed on May 20, 2020, followed by a supplementary chargesheet in the CBI special court in February 2021.

Kulkarni was arrested on November 5, 2020 and remains in judicial custody at Hindalga jail in Belagavi. His bail pleas were earlier rejected by both the trial court and the high court.

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Now the Supreme Court has made it clear that no extension will be granted and the legal process should proceed without any delay.

"The trial court should endeavour to expeditiously complete the trial, unaffected by the observations of the Court," the court directed in its order.

Case Details: THE STATE OF KARNATAKA through the CBI Versus VINAY RAJASHEKHARAPPA KULKARNI, SLP(Crl) No. 7865/2025