May 13th 2024.
In a recent court case, 66-year-old former Minister HD Revanna, a JD MLA, was arrested for an alleged abduction of a woman. The arrest was made by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on May 4, following allegations of sexual abuse against his son and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna. However, on Monday, the Special Court for Elected Representatives granted Revanna bail, after hearing the matter and considering the arguments presented.
Initially, Revanna was in police custody for three days, but on May 8, he was produced in the XVII Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court. The court then remanded him to seven days of judicial custody, until May 14. The case was filed after the woman's son claimed that his mother was sexually abused by Revanna's son, Prajwal. It was also reported that the woman was abducted in order to prevent her from testifying against Prajwal. The SIT was also able to obtain custody of Revanna's confidant, Sathish Babanna, in connection with the case.
Babanna was arrested on May 3 and the woman was rescued from a farmhouse in Mysuru's Hunsur taluk on May 4, just hours before Revanna's arrest at his father and former PM HD Deve Gowda's residence in Bengaluru's Padmanabhanagar. For his bail plea, Revanna hired senior counsel CV Nagesh, while Special Public Prosecutor Jaina Kothari and Additional Public Prosecutor Ashok Naik represented the SIT. Nagesh argued that Revanna's arrest was politically motivated, and even the victim claimed in a video that she was not abducted by Revanna or his family.
However, Kothari and Naik countered this argument by stating that the SIT had recorded statements under CrPC sections 161 and 164, and the victim had given a statement against Revanna. They also argued that the bail application was filed after the accused was already in custody, making it invalid. The Judge, however, did not agree with this argument and asked them to present their case based on its merits.
Nagesh further pointed out that the victim's son had initially lodged a complaint stating that his mother had not returned home and had gone with someone she knew on a motorbike. He questioned how this could be interpreted as a kidnap and stated that there was no evidence to support the abduction charge. Naik, on the other hand, argued that the victim and her family had been threatened by Revanna and requested police protection for her.
After a short break, Nagesh continued his argument, citing previous court verdicts on kidnapping cases and claiming that the sections invoked by the SIT were not valid. He also added that the cases against Prajwal Revanna had no connection with Revanna, and requested immediate bail relief. He even questioned why there were two Special Public Prosecutors present for the bail objection.
Kothari clarified that they were not repeating the argument, but adding to it. However, she requested the court to give them a chance to present further evidence to counter Nagesh's argument. Nagesh objected, stating that if the SIT was given another chance, he should also be given an opportunity to counter their argument. Kothari then pointed out that there was some misinformation in Nagesh's argument, such as the victim not being related to HD Revanna and the statements being recorded on May 5th.
The Judge intervened and mentioned that the 161 and 164 statements had been submitted to the court in both remand applications. The SIT requested time to provide written documents to support their argument, but the Judge refused and reserved the order for 5 pm on Monday. Ultimately, Revanna was granted bail. The scandal involving JD MP Prajwal Revanna, who is the grandson of JD patriarch Deve Gowda, has caused a political storm, with the ruling Congress and BJP-JD engaged in a heated debate.
Prajwal Revanna had reportedly left the country on April 27, a day after the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka. An Interpol Blue Corner Notice has been issued against him to bring him back. He was the joint candidate of the BJP-JD alliance from the Hassan Lok Sabha segment, which went to polls in the first phase. While the Congress government has formed a SIT to investigate the cases, the BJP and JD, who are NDA partners, have demanded that the case be handed over to the CBI. They have also demanded action against those responsible for circulating explicit videos.
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