JUDGMENT :

A.M. KHANWILKAR, J.

1. These appeals emanate from the judgment and order dated 22.04.2021 passed by the High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru in Writ Petition No.9717 of 2019 (GM-RES), whereby the High Court partly allowed the writ petition and quashed the order bearing No.CRM(1)/KCOCA/01/2018 dated 14.08.2018 issued by the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City according prior approval to invoke offences under Section 3 of the Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act, 2000¹[for short, ‘the 2000 Act’] against Mohan Nayak.N (private respondent herein) ²[Writ Petitioner before the High Court; not named in FIR No.221/2017 and preliminary chargesheet; shown as accused No.8 in the prior approval and as accused No.11 in the additional chargesheet.]being crime registered with Rajarajeshwari Nagar Police Station as FIR No.221/2017 dated 05.09.2017 and to enquire into the same.

2. Shorn of unnecessary details, be it noted that the present appeals pertain to the incident which had occurred on 05.09.2017 in which one Gauri Lankesh, who was a leading journalist, was shot dead by certain unknown assailants near her house at Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bengaluru. Her sisterKavitha Lankesh (app