Bengaluru riots: SC notice to K’taka govt

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Karnataka government and others af ter hearing a plea filed by Congress MLA of Pulikeshinagar Constituency R Akhanda Srinivasamurthy, challenging the bail granted to former Mayor of Bengaluru Sampath Raj and former Corporator Abdul Raqueeb Zakir in the alleged East Bengaluru violence on August 12, 2020, which claimed lives of four people.

A bench of the Top Court, headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and also comprising Justice Hrishikesh Roy sought a response from Sampath and Abdul within three weeks. The Karnataka High Court had granted bail on February 5 and 12 to both Sampath and Abdul in the alleged East Bengaluru violence case. Challenging this order of the Karnataka High Court, the Congress MLA of Pulikeshinagar Constituency R Akhanda Srinivasamurthy had moved the Apex Court challenging the bail granted to Sampath and Abdul in the case. Srinivasamurthy had submitted before the Supreme Court that though the accused had committed serious offences, they had been released on bail.