IMPORTANT POINT
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the provisions of the KCOC Act, NIA Act, and SC & ST (POA) Act differ in terms of the maintainability of appeals against orders granting or refusing bail, with the KCOC Act specifically excluding appeals against interlocutory orders.

ORDER :

Veerappa, J

The present criminal appeal is filed by the appellant/Accused No.5 under the provisions of Section 12 of the Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act, 2000 (‘KCOC Act’ for short) against the Order dated 20th February, 2021 made in Spl.C.C. No.872/2018 on the file of the Prl. City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru, insofar as dismissal of his petition filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for grant of bail in a pending special case.

2. Earlier, the very appellant filed Criminal Petition No.3393/2021. In the said criminal petition, Learned Counsel for the appellant has filed a memo seeking permission to convert criminal petition into criminal appeal and the Learned Counsel for the respondent submitted that he has no objection for the same. Accordingly, the Learned Single Judge of this Court by the Order dated 12th August, 2021 permitted to convert the said criminal petition into criminal appeal, thereby the present criminal appeal is filed by the appellant.

3. When the present criminal appeal came up before the Learned Single Judge of this Court on 6.7.2022, Learned Counsel for the respondent pointed out that in certain special enactments like the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 {‘SC & ST (POA) Act’ for short}, The National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 (‘NIA Act’ for short) and similar other Acts, there is a special provision to file an appeal before this Court against granting or refusing bail and in KCOC Act , the same is not provided. The Learned Single Judge of this Court noticing that there is no such provision found in the KCOC Act to file an appeal against an order of the Special Court granting or refusing bail and since both criminal petition as well as criminal appeal are being filed and entertained by this Court, referred the matter to Larger Bench, to decide on the following point:

Against granting or refusing bail by a Special Court, wherein the provisions of KCOC Act are invoked, whether it is criminal petition under Section 439 of Cr.P.C. or a criminal appeal under Section 12 of the KCOC Act, which is maintainable.''

4. Accordingly, the matter is placed before this Court as per the orders of the Hon’ble Acting Chief Justice dated 2.9.2022.

I. Brief facts of the case

5. It is the case of the prosecution that on the strength of complaint filed by one Mrs. Kavitha Lankesh, sister of deceased Mrs. Gowri Lankesh, criminal law was set into motion by registering the case in Crime No.221/2017 of Rajarajeswarinagar Police Station for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 120B, 114, 118 r/w Section 35 of IPC, Section 3 of KCOC Act and Sections 3 and 25 of the Arms Act. It is further alleged in the complaint that deceased Mrs. Gowri Lankesh was working as Journalist and also a Progressive thinker. The sister of the complainant used to reside alone at Rajarajeswarinagar. On 5.9.2017 at about 8.26 p.m. mother of the complainant received a phone call stating that something had happened to Mrs. Gowri Lankesh at her residence. Immediately, the complainant and family members rushed to the house of Mrs. Gowri Lankesh at Rajarajeshwarinagar. They found a car was parked in front of gate near the main road and sister of the complainant viz., deceased Mrs. Gowri Lankesh was lying in pool of blood. The complainant also noticed that near the body of deceased, there were some cartridge pieces and by suspecting that some miscreants have committed murder of her sister filed the complaint. On the basis of the complaint, case was registered in Crime No.221/2017 by the jurisdictional Police. Thereafter, Government has decided to probe the issue by constituting a Special Investigation Team (‘SIT’). The SIT during course of investigation has arrested the accused and on completion of investigation, filed the charge sheet.

6. During the pendency of the said petition, Accused Nos.5,6,8,9,13 and 14 filed the petition under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Proc