Karnataka HC Rejects Gangster Ravi Pujari’s Bail Plea

Single judge Justice Srinivas Harish Kumar of Karnataka High Court has recently dismissed the bail plea of gangster Ravi Pujari alias Raviprakash, filed in a case registered at a local police station.

While rejecting the bail plea, the High Court noted that the government prosecutor bears responsibility for the trial delay.

The judge stated that the prosecutor failed to cross-examine the witnesses despite the trial court framing charges long ago. It was the government prosecutor’s duty to present the witnesses before the court.

The High Court ordered the trial court to complete the trial within a year. Failure to do so would hold the government prosecutor accountable, as per the judge’s ruling.

The advocate for Pujari argued before the court that, “Despite the order of the High Court, the trial has not started. Even after two and a half years since the court order, not a single witness has been examined. If the trial is delayed in this regard, the public will lose faith in the judiciary.”

The government advocate pointed out that 107 cases were pending against Pujari in Karnataka and 20 in Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. Due to investigations requiring the accused’s presence in different states, the trial in the current case faced delays.

The current case involves allegations that, on the instructions of Ravi Pujari, 17 henchmen attempted to kill relator KS Samiullah and his associates of Shabnam Developers between January & February 15, 2007.

The accused in the case were charged under IPC Sections 302, 307, and Arms Act Sections 3 & 25. As the 5 accused, including Ravi Pujari, were absconding, the case was split, and the rest of the accused were acquitted. Pujari approached the High Court seeking bail in this matter.

Furthermore, Ravi Pujari was extradited from Senegal and brought to India on 21 February 2020, pursuant to an order by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Bengaluru, in a case filed by the Tilak Nagar police station.

Since then, he remained in custody and faces multiple cases across various states in India.