BENGALURU, 10 JAN

All accused in the Renukaswamy murder case including actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and his friend, actress Pavithra Gowda, appeared before the session's court on Friday.

All the 17 accused in the case, who are out on bail, appeared at the 57th CCH Court here as per the procedure, official sources said.

During the hearing, the judge after taking note of the presence of all the accused, scheduled the next appearance for 25 February, and instructed them to be present again on that date.

The court had mandated monthly appearances as part of the bail conditions, and this is one such appearance, sources said. This was said to be the first time all accused were present at the court at the same time, since being granted bail.

Darshan, who arrived with his legal team in the presence of media and onlookers, proceeded to the court, while Pavithra Gowda, was seen earlier conversing with her advocate. Other accused also came with their legal representatives.

Darshan, Pavithra Gowda and other accused - R Nagaraju, Anu Kumar alias Anu, Lakshman M, Jagadeesh alias Jagga and Pradoosh S Rao, were granted bail by the High Court on 13 December, while others were granted bail earlier.

The 47-year-old Darshan was already out on interim bail for medical reasons as HC granted him bail.

The Karnataka government had recently moved the Supreme Court against the high court's decision granting bail to Darshan, Pavithra, and others. Darshan was arrested on 11 June. Pavithra Gowda, and 15 other co-accused in the case were arrested during the same period.

According to police, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to his friend Pavithra Gowda, which enraged Darshan, allegedly leading to his murder. His body was found near a storm water drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli here on 9 June last year.

Raghavendra, one of the accused who is part of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R R Nagar here, on the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him. It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and murdered.

According to the post-mortem report, Renukaswamy, a native of Chitradurga, died due to shock and hemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.

Pavithra, who is accused number one, was the "major cause" for Renukaswamy's murder, police said. "It has been proved in the probe that she instigated other accused, conspired with them, and took part in the crime," they added. PTI