Karnataka HC reserves order on SIT plea to cancel H D Revanna’s bail in abduction case

PTI, Aug 2, 2024, 8:15 AM IST

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Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday reserved its order on a plea filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) seeking cancellation of bail granted to Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Revanna, who is accused of abducting a woman.

According to police, the woman was allegedly kidnapped to prevent her from testifying against the MLA’s son and former MP Prajwal Revanna, who has been charged with raping her.

Justice M Nagaprasanna, who heard the SIT’s plea, noted the severity of the allegations against Prajwal Revanna, stating that the facts of the case were particularly “gory” and that bail should not have been granted by the Special MP/MLA court.

Senior Advocate Ravivarma Kumar, representing the SIT, presented the case details, arguing that the nature of the charges warranted the cancellation of bail. He maintained that the trial court’s decision to grant bail was incorrect and needed to be revoked.

Senior Advocate C V Nagesh, representing H D Revanna, contended that the prosecution was not only seeking the cancellation of bail but also challenging the order that granted bail. He argued that the kidnapping charge was unsustainable as the victim was not a minor, and the abduction charge “lacked the necessary elements of deceit.”

“She was a maidservant in the house. She was called. There was no deceit, no threat…no detention,” he said.

Nagesh also claimed that there was no indication that the domestic help, who was the victim, was abducted at the behest of H D Revanna or his wife Bhavani Revanna.

After hearing both sides, the court reserved its order.