On 15th April, the Special Court for MLAs and MPs in Bengaluru held Congress MLA Vinay Rajashekharappa Kulkarni and others guilty of murdering Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Zilla Panchayat member Yogesh Gowda in 2016. The sentencing will be announced on 17th April. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), sought the harshest punishment for the convicts.
Notably, since June 2025, a “brand protection” firm representing Kulkarni have been threatening OpIndia with legal consequences over three reports published against him in regard to his involvement in criminal cases. In 12 emails sent to OpIndia in less than three months, Kulkarni’s representatives tried to force OpIndia to take down articles based on court judgments where OpIndia was not even a party.
Court found Kulkarni guilty of conspiracy
The Special Court held Kulkarni and others guilty of criminal conspiracy in the 2016 murder case. Kulkarni, who is currently serving as the Chairman of the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board, was named as accused number 15 in the case. The verdict came after a prolonged trial, as the CBI had taken over the case in 2020.
ASG states abuse of power and system manipulation
While arguing the case, the ASG stated that the accused had hatched a cold blooded conspiracy to eliminate a political rival. He informed the court that Yogesh Gowda, a public figure, was targeted due to political rivalry. He further accused the convicts of misusing police machinery, fabricating documents, and attempting to destroy evidence.
He also described the manner in which Gowda was killed, stating that chilli powder was thrown into Gowda’s eyes before he was brutally murdered. He emphasised Kulkarni’s role in the crime as a legislator and contended that he had violated constitutional principles by orchestrating the crime.
Approver expresses guilt, seeks strength
While speaking to the media, Basavaraj Muttagi, one of the accused who turned approver in the case, said that he was haunted by the guilt of his role in the conspiracy, and said the real struggle would begin now.
Multiple accused convicted in long running case
The CBI had named 21 accused in the case, out of which 17 have been found guilty. Two of the accused turned approvers. The court has ordered the release of the other two. The CBI also moved to re accuse one of the approvers who turned hostile.
How a firm managing Kulkarni’s ‘reputation’ online threatened OpIndia
OpIndia received the first email on 20th June 2025 from a digital marketing and brand protection firm named Aiplex Software Private Limited. In the email, AiPlex shared an authorisation letter from Kulkarni allowing them to engage with media houses and individuals to “protect” his “online reputation”. In the authorisation letter, Kulkarni claimed that, given his political stature, certain individuals and media channels with “vested interests” had been targeting him with an intent to defame him.
According to him, such targeted reports were impacting his career and reputation, which he had built over the years. Thus, he authorised the company to manage his online reputation and take action over the internet to “engage and neutralise” illegal rumours, fake news, misquoted interviews, AI generated images, and more, along with enforcement of restraining orders obtained from the court.
In that email, three links to articles and a drive link to court orders were shared. OpIndia was asked to remove them within 24 hours. Interestingly, when OpIndia checked the court order, it was not a party in the case. Furthermore, the email did not come from a law firm but a “brand protection” firm. Hence, OpIndia decided not to act on it. The articles Kulkarni wanted to get removed can be checked here, here and here.
In the email, the company stated that if OpIndia did not remove the articles within 24 hours, they would be left with no choice but to take legal action against it.
Two days later, on 25th June, the company sent OpIndia another email seeking removal of the content within 24 hours. More reminders followed on 26th June, 30th June, 4th July, 8th July, 14th July, 22nd July, 24th July, 28th July and 2nd August. Notably, from 22nd July, only one article was linked in the email. For some reason, they seemed to have stopped treating the other two articles as “defamatory” in nature against the Congress leader.
The basis of the demand raised by the “brand reputation” firm was a Karnataka High Court order directing YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp and X to remove “defamatory” content against Kulkarni. The Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Bengaluru Police Commissioner, and the Cyber Crime Police Station, North Division, Bengaluru, were also made parties in the case. OpIndia checked the court orders attached in the email and found that it was not a party in the case. The firm was trying to get standard news reports removed based on an order where OpIndia was not directed to remove any content by the Hon’ble High Court.
Background of the Yogesh Gowda murder case
Yogesh Gowda was a Zilla Panchayat member and BJP leader from the Hebballi constituency. On 15th June 2016, he was brutally murdered at his gym in Saptapur, Dharwad. Six accused were arrested by Dharwad Police and charged with murder. Gurunath Gowda, brother of Yogesh, demanded a CBI probe in the matter. When the BJP led government came to power in the state, the case was transferred to the CBI.
The investigation agency took over the case on 24th September 2019. Eight additional accused were arrested by the CBI. The charge sheet was filed on 20th May 2020. On 5th November, Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni was arrested by the investigation agency. His bail plea was rejected twice, first by a lower court and later by the High Court. During that period, he remained in judicial custody at Hindalga Jail in Belagavi.
During the trial, the CBI informed the court that Kulkarni had travelled to Delhi before and after the murder. Records showed he travelled to Delhi on 12th June 2016 at around 11.30 am and came back the next day at 10.40 am. He again went to Delhi on 16th June evening, a day after the murder, and returned on 18th June. The CBI stated that the tickets were booked on the day of travel and the purpose was to create an alibi.
According to the CBI, the reason behind the murder was political rivalry. Kulkarni had asked Yogesh not to contest the Zilla Panchayat elections, but he refused.
In August 2021, the Supreme Court of India had granted bail to Kulkarni. However, in June 2024, his bail was cancelled by the apex court. A Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said that there was credible material suggesting that the accused made attempts to contact or influence witnesses during the course of the ongoing trial, and accepted the CBI’s plea asking for cancellation of the MLA’s bail.
In June 2024, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain Kulkarni’s plea to quash charges against him. A bench of Justices PV Sanjay Kumar and Augustine Masih rejected the MLA’s Special Leave Petition against the Karnataka High Court order, which sustained the Special Court’s charges against Kulkarni and twenty other accused persons.
The Supreme Court held that Vinay Kulkarni had ‘bought over’ the deceased victim’s widow. Given that the Court was unlikely to consider the plea, Senior Advocate Siddhartha Dave, who represented Kulkarni, moved to withdraw it. This, however, enraged Justice Kumar, who said, “This court has become a gambling court.”
Justice Kumar observed that the case was not fit for quashing. “This is not a case for quashing, 57 phone calls between you and A1 within the ambit of 5 months,” the Judge said.
