Published Feb 12, 2026 | 2:21 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 12, 2026 | 2:21 PM
Supreme Court of India. (iStock)
Synopsis: The Supreme Court refused to grant anticipatory bail to Karnataka BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj in the Biklu Shiva murder case. The case relates to the murder of Bikla Shiva, and Basavaraja is alleged to be the conspirator behind the murder.
The Supreme Court on Thursday, 12 February, refused to grant anticipatory bail to Karnataka BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj in the Biklu Shiva murder case.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the MLA, claimed that the mother of the deceased has not given any statement against the petitioner.
The case relates to the murder of VG Shivaprakash alias Bikla Shiva in Bengaluru on 15 July last year. Basavaraja, who represents the KR Pura constituency, is alleged to be the conspirator behind the murder.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said that, being an MLA, the petitioner can’t be expected to kill a person directly.
“These landgrabbers, they have political protection. They are all a group of criminals,” CJI said.
Kant said that the chain of events showed that the deceased had gone to the property, which was being claimed by two rival groups. He then claimed to be the General Power Attorney holder and flashed it. A person named Jagadish then asked him to hand over the GPA and attacked him. “The allegation is that Jagadish was in contact with the petitioner,” the CJI pointed out.
In response, Rohatgi said that the property is only 130 square yards, and the petitioner, being a four-time MLA, “would not be so desperate to grab such a small plot,” according to a report by LiveLaw.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi, who was also on the bench, stated that the Court could have accepted the petitioner’s argument had he not suppressed his contacts with the primary accused Jagadish.
The Chief Justice then said that the defence of the petitioner was a subject matter of investigation. Rohatgi then chose to withdraw the matter with liberty to seek regular bail after surrendering.
(With inputs from Anisha Reddy.)
