Karnataka HC reserves verdict on Prajwal Revanna's bail plea in sexual assault case

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the bail plea of former Janata Dal (S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who faces allegations of sexual assault and rape.

A single-judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna earlier heard arguments on Revanna's application in the first case and two anticipatory bail pleas related to subsequent complaints.

During the hearing, the court directed the advocates to avoid mentioning the victims' names and, instead, point out specific details in the case documents.

Senior Advocate Prabhuling K Navadgi, appearing for Revanna, outlined the timeline of events, emphasising that the woman, who had previously complained about being illegally removed from her home, had not initially leveled allegations of sexual misconduct against Revanna.

Navadgi stated that the allegations primarily focused on Revanna’s father and noted that the victim had worked for the family for four years.

He also raised concerns about the four-year delay in filing the complaint, questioning the reasoning for not reporting the incident earlier.

He argued that while the woman claimed to have found the courage to speak up after her husband confronted her about a video, she did not initially allege rape under Section 376 of the IPC.

Navadgi further contended that forensic reports did not link Revanna to the purported video and highlighted "inconsistencies" in the victim’s and her daughter’s statements.

Navadgi denied that any incriminating videos were found on Revanna’s phone. He also argued that the phone in question belonged to Revanna’s driver, Karthik, and that the FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report was inconclusive.

On the allegations under the IT Act’s Section 66E, Navadgi asserted that these charges were not directly against Revanna. He also cited Supreme Court rulings on delayed complaints, arguing that no satisfactory explanation had been provided for the delay in this case.

Special Public Prosecutor Professor Ravivarma Kumar, representing the State, argued that the victim had been threatened by Revanna, which explained the delay in filing the complaint. Kumar emphasised that the threats were documented in the victim's further statement and asserted that forensic evidence supported the allegations against Revanna, particularly regarding the victim's daughter.

While the High Court questioned the findings of the FSL report, Kumar maintained that the delay in filing the complaint was justified due to the petitioner’s threats and attempts to silence the victim.

Kumar also argued that Revanna had not surrendered his phone, which contained crucial information, and that he had fled the country to evade justice.

Following these arguments, the court reserved its judgment on the bail pleas.

Revanna had failed in his bid to retain the Hassan parliamentary constituency in the recent polls. The cases of sexual abuse came to light after pen-drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna were reportedly circulated in Hassan, ahead of Lok Sabha polls there on April 26.

JD(S) suspended him from the party following the cases filed against him.

In the first case registered against him at the Holenarasipura Town police station in Hassan on April 28, Revanna is accused of sexually harassing a 47-year-old former maid. He is listed as accused number two, while his father and local MLA, H D Revanna, is the primary accused.

The second case against Prajwal Revanna was filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on May 1 after a 44-year-old former member of the Hassan Zilla Panchayat accused him of repeatedly raping her.

The third case pertains to rape of a woman in her 60s from Mysuru's K R Nagara, who was also a domestic help. The victim's son had initially filed a kidnap case, alleging abduction of his mother, at the K R Nagar police station on May 2. In this kidnap case, the SIT had arrested H D Revanna, who is currently out on bail, and had questioned Prajwal's mother Bhavani Revanna, who has got anticipatory bail.

The fourth case was registered against Prajwal Revanna, accusing him of sexual harassment, on June 12 at cyber crime police station of CID in Bengaluru. In this case he has been booked for sexual harassment, stalking and criminal intimidation, and violation of privacy under the IT Act. The complainant in this case is a woman, who was allegedly sexually harassed over a video call.