A special court in Bengaluru on April 15 convicted Congress MLA and former minister Vinay Kulkarni and 16 others in the 2016 murder of a young BJP leader in Dharwad district of Karnataka.While the MLA has been convicted for both criminal conspiracy and murder under provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), he and Chandrashekar Indi were acquitted of the charges under the Arms Act, 1959, as the sanction for their prosecution under this law was not obtained.Other persons convicted are Vikram Ballari, Kirthi Kumar Basavaraj Kurahatti, Sandeep Saudatti, Vinayaka Katagi, Mahabaleshwar Hongal alias Muduka, Santhosh Saudatti, Dinesh M., Ashwath, Sunil, Nazeer Ahmed, Shahanawaz, Nuthan, Harshith, Chandrashekar Indi, Vikas Kalburgi, and Channakeshava B. Tingarikar.Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, judge of the special court of sessions for criminal cases against former and present MPs and MLAs, delivered the verdict. The court will hear the argument on quantum of sentence on April 16.Perjury case against witnessesMeanwhile, the court directed the Registrar, City Civil Court, to register a case of perjury against the witness police officers Shivananda Chalavadi, Babu Katagi, Shankaragouda Basanagouda Patil, and independent witnesses Dattatreya Gudaganti, Anand Irappa Uddannavar, Vinayaka Binjiyavar, Mohan Echarappa Mulmuttal, Vivekananda Dalawai, Natraj Sarj Desai and Vijay Kulkarni.Also, the court gave liberty to the prosecution to file the necessary application seeking sanction to prosecute the approver-turned-witness Shivanand Shrishaila Biradar, who had turned hostile in court.Case backgroundKulkarni, elected to the Legislative Assembly from the Dharwad constituency, was named as prime accused in the murder of Yogeshgouda Goudar, a 26-year-old BJP zilla panchayat member, in Dharwad in 2016.The case, which has escalated from the local police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), recently saw the Supreme Court grant bail to the legislator in late February 2026, after his previous release on bail was revoked over witness tampering allegations.Murder in gymOn June 15, 2016, Yogeshgouda Goudar was attacked and hacked to death in his gym at Saptapur in Dharwad. According to the CBI, the assailants immobilised Yogeshgouda by throwing chilli powder in his face before attacking him with lethal weapons. Kulkarni was a Cabinet minister in the then Congress government in Karnataka when the murder took place.The Karnataka police, who initially probed the case, arrested six individuals. However, following demands from the victim’s family and political pressure, the investigation was transferred to the CBI in 2019 after the BJP came to power in Karnataka.The CBI filed a supplementary chargesheet in 2020, naming Kulkarni as the ‘main conspirator’. The CBI alleged that Kulkarni, who was the district in-charge minister at the time of the murder, perceived Yogeshgouda as a growing political rival in Dharwad, and hired contract killers to eliminate him.Kulkarni was arrested by the CBI in 2020. He got bail from the Supreme Court in August 2021 under stringent conditions, including a ban on entering Dharwad district. In June 2025, the apex court cancelled his bail, citing sufficient material showing witness tampering and attempts to influence prosecution witnesses, including an approver who later retracted his statement.In January 2026, he sought bail again, citing changed circumstances as key witnesses had been examined, but the Karnataka High Court refused, citing judicial propriety. On February 27, 2026, the Supreme Court granted bail after noting all witnesses were examined, and directed speedy conclusion of the trial.