The Supreme Court of India on Thursday cancelled the bail granted to Kannada top actor Darshan by the Karnataka High Court in connection with a murder case. The apex court stated that granting bail in such a serious case will lead to influence of witnesses by the accused and also impacts the trail.

While setting aside the earlier order of the Karnataka High Court, the bench headed by Justice JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan has immediately ordered the arrest of Darshan. The top court also came down heavily on the 5 star treatment that was accorded to the actor when he was arrested in the case. It also observed that the first step to do when it was revealed that the accused was provided top class facilities, the jail superintendent and other officials should be immediately suspended. It warned jail authorities against providing special privileges to the accused.

Along with Darshan, actress Pavitra Gowda and five others were also arrested on June 11 last year in this case. The Karnataka High Court later granted bail to all accused on December 13. The Karnataka government approached the Supreme Court challenging the HC order and finally got the order after eight months.

The case stems from the murder of Renukaswamy for making derogatory remarks on Pavitra Gowda. He was kidnapped and later brutally assaulted by Darshan’s close aides on his instructions. This incident has sent shockwaves across the nation and called for an immediate action. In April this year, there was a huge public outrage when Dharshan was made appearances at a movie screening after skipping court hearing.