The legal team defending the main accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case seem to be preparing for a long, protracted battle. They have filed a petition against four magistrates of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) courts who presided over the proceedings of the cases and alleged lapses on their part in following the Supreme Court guidelines. They have been accused of dereliction of duty and acting with a strong bias against their clients, mainly Amol Kale, Suchith Kumar, Amit Degwekar and Manohar Edave – who are among the main suspects arrested in connection with plotting and executing Gauri Lankesh’s murder. These men are also implicated for the foiled murder attempt on KS Bhagwan, a Kannada writer. The high court is expected to take up the matter for hearing on Monday.