Setback for Prajwal Revanna, Supreme Court dismisses ex-MP's bail plea in rape case
The Supreme Court dismissed ex-MP Prajwal Revanna's plea for bail in sexual assault and rape case.
In a major setback for the former JD(S) MP, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the bail plea of Prajwal Revanna, who faces charges of rape and sexual assault.
A Supreme Court bench, consisting of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, rejected Revanna's bail plea during the hearing on November 11, observing that he is a very influential person and his bail could likely compromise the investigation in the case.
Appearing for Revanna, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said that a charge sheet has been filed in the case and section 376 of the IPC was not there in the initial complaint.
However, the apex court said that it could not interfere with the Karnataka High Court's October 21 decision denying him bail. Revanna's counsel sought the approval to approach the court after six months, but the bench said that it could not say anything about that and dismissed the plea.
Read more: Karnataka: 2144 pages chargesheet filed against Prajwal Revanna in sexual assault, rape case
In August, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Karnataka which is probing four cases of sexual assault and harassment against Revanna submitted a 2,144-page charge sheet.
The charge sheet filed by the SIT is linked to a case in which the former MLA is accused of raping a woman, who worked as a domestic help for his family. There are two rape cases against the JD(S) leader and a sexual assault case.
The controversy began when videos showing Prajwal Revanna sexually assaulting multiple women started surfacing on April 23, just days before polling in Hassan Lok Sabha constituency.
Revanna left for Germany on April 27, a day after the polls in his constituency, just as the probe in the sexual assault case commenced. The JD(S) leader finally returned to India on May 31 after appeals from ex-PM HD Deve Gowda, and was arrested.
Prajwal Revanna is the son of Holenarasipura JD(S) MLA H D Revanna and grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda. H D Revanna was also arrested in an assault and kidnapping case linked to his son, but was granted bail.
(With inputs from PTI)