Congress MLA and former minister Vinay Kulkarni has been disqualified from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly following his life imprisonment sentence for the 2016 murder of BJP leader Yogesh Gowda.

An official notification issued on Saturday stated that the disqualification is effective from April 15, 2026, the date of conviction, under provisions of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act. This has rendered the Dharwad Assembly seat vacant.

"Consequent upon conviction of Sri Vinay Kulakarni Member of Karnataka Legislative Assembly representing the Dharwad Constituency by the LXXXI Addl. City Civil & Sessions Judge, Bengaluru City (CCH-82), in Spl CC.No. 565/2021 he stands disqualified from the membership of Karnataka Legislative Assembly from the date of conviction i.e., 15th April, 2026 in terms of the provisions of article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with section 8 of the Representation of the people Act, 1951 and such disqualification shall continue for a further period of six years since his release, unless the conviction is stayed by a competent Court. Hence, ONE seat of Karnataka legislative Assembly has fallen vacant," the notification said.

On April 17, the Special Court of People's Representatives in Bengaluru sentenced 16 individuals, including Kulkarni, to life imprisonment. Yogesh Gowda was killed at his gym in Dharwad in 2016.

The case attracted significant political attention after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the probe. The court ordered life imprisonment and compensation for the convicted, including Kulkarni.

Gowda, a 26-year-old BJP zila panchayat member from Hebballi constituency, was murdered on June 15, 2016, in Dharwad.

The CBI assumed control of the investigation on September 24, 2019, and arrested Kulkarni on November 5, 2020. Kulkarni has denied all allegations against him.