SC slams Karnataka government for politicising probe into Revanna’s sexual assault cases
- In Reports
- 11:31 AM, Jul 11, 2024
- Myind Staff
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court warned the Karnataka government against politicising the criminal investigations into the sexual assault cases involving former parliamentarian Prajwal Revanna.
“Let’s not politicise the matter,” stated a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan while hearing an appeal filed by the Karnataka Special Investigation Team (SIT) against the anticipatory bail granted to Prajwal’s mother, Bhavani Revanna.
Prajwal, a suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader, is accused of sexually assaulting multiple women. Bhavani, his mother, was charged in connection with the alleged abduction of one of the victims.
During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the SIT, criticised the relief granted to Bhavani as “most unfortunate.” However, the bench stressed the importance of distinguishing political motives from the legal reasoning of the high court, which cited Bhavani’s age and the absence of direct evidence against her.
“Mr Sibal, leave apart the political reasons. See the reasons given by the high court. The accused is a woman, aged 55 years. There are serious allegations against her son of indulging in atrocious things. He ran away and was eventually caught. In a case with such allegations, what will be the role of the mother in abetting the crime committed by her son?” the court asked.
The bench noted that Bhavani was not directly named in the complaint, casting doubt on her involvement in the crimes committed by her son, who had fled to Germany but was eventually arrested.
In response, Sibal referenced statements suggesting that the victim was abducted under Bhavani's direction and her family's involvement. However, the bench highlighted the lack of direct evidence against Bhavani, requesting Sibal to present concrete allegations from the Section 164 statement of a complainant before a magistrate. “The best evidence with you is the Section 164 statement. Please point out from the 164 statement where the allegation against her is”.
Insisting that Bhavani orchestrated the victim's captivity, Sibal cited the victim's fear for her life and argued that, in the normal course of human conduct, a mother would be aware of her son's actions.
However, the bench remained unconvinced, emphasising the importance of concrete evidence over assumptions. “You are dealing with a serious criminal complaint. How do you use the word and implicate ‘family’ in a criminal offence? We are concerned with the liberty of a woman. Show us what’s there against her...Let’s not politicise a matter. There’s nothing against her,” it told Sibal.
The court eventually issued a notice to the SIT’s appeal, seeking a response from Bhavani, while emphasising the necessity of addressing the legal aspects without political bias.
Prajwal, who fled to Germany, was arrested on May 31 after returning to India. He faces three separate cases of sexual abuse, with allegations from a former house help, a former member of the Hassan Zilla Panchayat, and a woman in her 60s. Thousands of explicit videos allegedly involving Prajwal surfaced in Hassan ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, leading to his suspension from the JD(S) party. The 33-year-old grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda failed in his bid to retain the Hassan parliamentary constituency in the recent elections.
Prajwal’s father HD Revanna, who is a legislator in the Karnataka state assembly, is also an accused in the police complaint lodged by a former employee of the family. He has denied the allegations, calling them a political conspiracy.
The Karnataka High Court granted anticipatory bail to Bhavani on June 18 despite allegations from the Karnataka Police labelling her as the "mastermind" in the abduction case.
Image source: Reuters
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