MM Kalburgi's wife sought an independent probe into the murder of her husband

Responding to scholar and rationalist MM Kalburgi's wife seeking a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the murder of her husband, the Supreme Court said that "it's a very serious case and we will hear it...We are not going to adjourn the case. Complete your pleadings be ready," said the bench headed by Justice Rohinton Nariman.

The top court has set the next date of hearing on February 26.

Professor Kalburgi's wife, Uma Devi in her petition, alleged that there was a common link between the murder of her husband and the killings of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare. She has sought an independent probe.

During the last hearing, the Supreme Court had pulled up the Karnataka government for "fooling around" instead of investigating Professor Kalburgi's murder. The top court had asked the CBI to investigate the murders of Professor Kalburgi, journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, social worker Narendra Dabholkar and rationalist Govind Pansare if it can find a common link between them.

Sources in the SIT told news agency PTI in June last year that Gauri Lankesh and Professor Kalburgi were shot dead with the same gun and the Karnataka forensic science laboratory had confirmed it. It was the first official confirmation of the link between the two killings, which happened after a gap of two years of each other.

Professor Kalburgi, 77, was shot dead in front of his house on August 30, 2015, in Dharwad and Gauri Lankesh, 55, on September 5, 2017.

The bullets in both cases "have been fired through a single country made pistol chambered for 7.65 mm caliber pistol cartridges," a source told PTI quoting the forensic report.