The Supreme Court expressed its dissatisfaction on Thursday, stating that it believed the Karnataka High Court did not “properly exercise its discretion” when it granted bail to actor Darshan Thoogudeepa in connection with the murder case of his fan, Renukaswamy.

Darshan, 33, was reportedly involved in the abduction of Renukaswamy along with his associates from Chitradurga, after which the victim was tortured in a shed in Bengaluru last June due to inappropriate messages sent to Darshan’s alleged partner, actress Pavithra Gowda. Following Renukaswamy’s death, his body was disposed of in a drain.

In December, the Karnataka High Court approved bail for Darshan. In response to a petition from the Karnataka government challenging this decision, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan addressed the actor’s lawyer, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, asking, “What is your response, Mr. Sibal? Frankly, we believe the high court did not exercise its discretion appropriately. You must have noticed how the high court articulated its order.”

Mr. Sibal replied that the Supreme Court could disregard the high court’s ruling and concentrate on the testimonies provided by the witnesses.

The bench then scheduled the case for a hearing on Tuesday, instructing Mr. Sibal to prepare arguments on why the court should not intervene in the high court’s ruling.

“I intended to show you something…I appear to have overlooked my notes…. We will hear you on Tuesday. Please prepare your submissions. We will discuss why we should not intervene,” the bench remarked.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra asserted that the actor was present on stage with one of the prosecution’s main witnesses. However, Mr. Sibal countered, stating that the individual in question was not a significant witness.