The Karnataka High Court on Friday granted bail to an advocate who killed his wife's stalker in a fight.
The advocate's defence lawyer argued that the killing was a result of self-defence as he, his wife and child were attacked by the stalker and his accomplice. Mahendra L, an advocate from Bommasandra, approached the High Court for bail after his plea was rejected by the trial court.
Mahendra, his wife and his two-year-old child were living in a rented house in Old Chandapura. Santhosh Kumar, a techie was the landlord's son who returned after a stint in France in January 2022. He allegedly started coveting Nandini.
Sensing that Nandini and Santhosh were getting close, Mahendra shifted his house to Bommanahalli.
However, Santhosh continued to try to be in contact with her. He returned from another stint in France in February and a fight ensued when he tried to meet Nandini.
The matter was settled in a local police station and Santhosh was warned not to contact Nandini.
In April 2022, yet another fight happened between Mahendra and Santhosh, who was with his friend Arun, in a local bar. Mahendra again shifted his house to Madhina Nagar.
On April 13, Santhosh and Arun knocked on the door of Nandini's house. Mahendra opened the door and a fight started. After getting beaten by Mahendra, the duo ran away but were hospitalised with injuries. Santhosh recovered but Arun succumbed to the injuries he sustained in the fight.
Based on Santhosh's complaint, Mahendra was arrested and charged under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
Mahendra's advocate Pavana Chandra Shetty argued in the High Court that his client's act was in self-defence.
The court was told that Santhosh was a stalker who followed Nandini in the absence of Mahendra.
The alleged incident happened when the two were trespassing into the home of Mahendra and they were the assailants. It was also argued that their intention was not to murder Mahendra in pursuit of Nandini.
Mr Shetty argued that, "As per Section 99 and 100 of the Indian Penal Code, every citizen has a right of self defence. As per the judgement in Vidya Singh case by Hon'ble Justice K S Hedge reported in AIR 1971, every citizen has a fundamental right of self defence." Justice Mohammad Nawaz granted bail to Mahendra, who was in custody since the incident, on Friday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
