Bengaluru, May 2 Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni has been disqualified from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly following his conviction by a Bengaluru sessions court in connection with a BJP leader murder case, according to an official notification issued by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on May 2.
However, the notification further stated that the disqualification will continue for a period of six years after his release, unless the conviction is stayed by a competent court.
The disqualification has come into effect from April 15, 2026 — the date of his conviction — under the provisions of the Constitution of India and the Representation of the People Act, 1951. As a result, the Dharwad Assembly seat has fallen vacant.
In a notification issued by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Secretary M.K. Vishalakshi stated that Kulkarni, who represented the Dharwad constituency, stands disqualified from the date of conviction in terms of Article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution, read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act.
Kulkarni was convicted by the Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru City (CCH-82), in Special Case No. 565/2021.
Following the disqualification, one seat in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly has officially fallen vacant.
It may be recalled that Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader had stated on Monday that his office will take a call on disqualifying Vinay Kulkarni as MLA of Dharwad only after he “officially receives intimation” about the life sentence. “Unless I am officially communicated to about the sentence, no action can be taken,” Khader told reporters in Mangaluru.
Social activists and opposition leaders had questioned the Congress government on the delay in the disqualification of Vinay Kulkarni from the post of MLA.
The special court dealing exclusively with criminal cases against former and sitting MPs and MLAs in Bengaluru on April 15 sentenced Kulkarni and 16 others to life for the murder of BJP leader Yogesh Goudar in Dharwad on June 15, 2016.
The case dates back to 2016. Vinay Kulkarni is listed as accused number 15. The case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the state government. At the time the allegations surfaced, Kulkarni was serving as a minister and district in-charge minister.
Yogesh Gowda was hacked to death by a group of assailants at a gym in Dharwad city on June 15, 2016. He had politically challenged Kulkarni, and the incident soon took a worse turn.
Kulkarni was arrested in 2020 and released on bail in 2021. He was accused of influencing witnesses, following which the CBI sought cancellation of his bail, alleging violation of bail conditions. The court accepted the plea and revoked his bail.
Subsequently, Kulkarni, who is currently the Chairman of the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board, surrendered before the authorities and was recently released on bail again.
Kulkarni was accused of conspiring in the murder of Yogesh Gowda. At the time, he was a Cabinet minister in the Siddaramaiah-led government. Although his name surfaced, no action was initially taken against him.
The BJP later made it a major issue, with former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa vowing at election rallies that Kulkarni would be sent to jail if the BJP came to power.
The case was subsequently handed over to the CBI, and Kulkarni was arrested. He spent more than nine months in jail before securing bail from the Supreme Court. Currently, Kulkarni is lodged in Bengaluru Central Prison, and he has already filed an appeal challenging the conviction.
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