New Delhi, October 14 2024-
The Supreme Court on Monday could not take up for hearing a plea moved by the Karnataka SIT seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Bhavani Revanna, mother of JD-S leader and Karnataka sex video scandal case prime accused Prajwal Revanna.
Prajwal Revanna is also the grandson of party supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.
The hearing was deferred due to the non-sitting of Justice Surya Kant-led Bench.
Earlier in July, the apex court, after much persuasion, agreed to examine the Special Leave Petition filed by the Karnataka SIT and called for a response from Bhavani Revanna, who is the daughter-in-law of former Prime Minister Deve Gowda.
Observing that the matter pertains to the liberty of a woman, whose guilt is to be determined during trial, the apex court cautioned that the issue need not be politicised and inquired about the role attributed to Prajwal Revanna’s mother.
In response, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the state SIT, submitted that the victim in her statement recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) described the role of Bhavani Revanna in abducting her.
The Karnataka High Court, on June 18, had allowed Bhavani Revanna’s anticipatory bail petition in a kidnap case linked to the sex video scandal. As a condition for granting the anticipatory bail, a bench headed by Justice Krishna S. Dixit restricted her entry into the Mysuru and Hassan districts.
The victim in the kidnap case hails from the Mysuru district while Hassan is the native district of Bhavani Revanna. In its order, the Karnataka High Court said that Bhavani Revanna had answered 85 questions asked by the police and, hence, the argument of her non-cooperation with the probe cannot be accepted. Bhavani Revanna is currently appearing before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with the kidnap case of a maid, who allegedly suffered sexual assault at the hands of Prajwal Revanna and her husband, JD-S legislator, H.D. Revanna. (Agency)
