Gauri Lankesh murder: 9 years on, trial court gets its eighth judge

Gauri Lankesh murder: 9 years on, trial court gets its eighth judge The Gauri Lankesh murder trial has been stalled since August after the promotion of the judge hearing the case.

Key points

• 5 min read Bengaluru Updated: Oct 10, 2026 04: 34 AM IST.
• Journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead at the doorstep of her Bengaluru house on September 5, 2017, by two alleged right-wing extremists.
• Nine years after journalist Gauri Lankesh was murdered outside her Bengaluru house in 2017, the trial in the case is due to resume before an eighth judge.
• Hegde took charge after the previous principal sessions judge for Bengaluru, K S Bharath Kumar, was elevated to the Karnataka High Court.

Journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead at the doorstep of her Bengaluru house on September 5, 2017, by two alleged right-wing extremists. (File Photo).

Ravindra Hegde, a district judge and former Karnataka High Court registrar who took charge as the principal city civil and sessions judge in Bengaluru on October 5, held his first hearing in the case on Thursday to fix fresh dates for resumption of the stalled trial.

Hegde took charge after the previous principal sessions judge for Bengaluru, K S Bharath Kumar, was elevated to the Karnataka High Court. The trial in the murder case has been stalled since August after his promotion. Hegde is the second judge to take over the case this year, replacing Kumar. This person had succeeded M Chandrashekar Reddy in June 2026.

Taken together, the developments around gauri Lankesh murder: 9 years on, trial court gets its eighth judge point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.