Revanna is facing serious charges in at least four separate cases, including rape, sexual assault, and criminal intimidation. Last week, he approached the High Court, asking for copies of all digital evidence collected by the State Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Karnataka: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday (16th Jan) ruled that Prajwal Revanna, a suspended leader of the Janata Dal (Secular) accused of sexually assaulting multiple women, can only examine digital evidence connected to the case of the complainant who filed the current case against him. The Court denied Revanna access to evidence related to other victims, citing privacy concerns.
Revanna’s lawyer argued that the digital evidence being sought was not necessarily obscene. However, the High Court firmly dismissed this claim.
“The images here even of the victim are obscene. Just because you are Prajwal Revanna, the law can’t be bent for you,” Justice M. Nagaprasanna declared.
Revanna is facing serious charges in at least four separate cases, including rape, sexual assault, and criminal intimidation. Last week, he approached the High Court, asking for copies of all digital evidence collected by the State Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Justice Nagaprasanna emphasized that while Revanna has a right to examine evidence under Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (now replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita), this right is limited to the specific case against him. The Court made it clear that the privacy of other victims must be protected.
“Anything pertaining to this case under Section 376 (pertaining to alleged rape of a domestic help) under you, you’ll get. But if you are trying to extract material relating to all the women you have had escapades with, that can’t be permitted. When they (other women/victims) are not giving any statements against you, why do you want to invade their privacy? … We can’t allow invasion of their privacy,” the judge remarked.
Additional Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) B.N. Jagadeesha opposed Revanna’s plea, alleging it was an attempt to delay the trial.
“His petition is only a tactic to delay the trial in the case,” Jagadeesha told the Court.
The Court ruled that Revanna could inspect digital evidence related to the complainant in this case, as per Section 207 and the precedent set in P. Gopalakrishnan vs. the State of Kerala.
“We will permit you to inspect the statements of the victim, photographs etc., only in this case, only in accordance with the judgement in P. Gopalakrishnan vs. the State of Kerala,” the Court stated.
The judge clarified that while Revanna has the right to request evidence under Section 207, it is limited to what the law allows.
“It is his (Revanna’s) right too to ask under Section 207. But whatever he is entitled to is only in accordance with Gopalakrishnan judgment,” Justice Nagaprasanna added.
The SIT had earlier provided Revanna with copies of images and videos linked to the four cases against him. However, he now demands access to over 15,000 images and 2,000 videos recovered from a Samsung phone allegedly belonging to his driver.
READ ALSO: Denied Bail To Ex MP Prajwal Revanna In Rape Cases: Supreme Court
Jagadeesha argued against this, noting:”Most of these images and videos contain details of other victims in the case, and providing such copies will not only take time but also end up revealing their identity before the trial court.”
Prajwal Revanna, the son of former minister H.D. Revanna and grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, is facing multiple allegations of sexual assault. On August 24, 2024, the SIT filed a 2,144-page chargesheet in one of the four cases before the special court handling cases against legislators.
A first information report (FIR) filed against Prajwal Revanna and HD Revanna on April 28 under Sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) of the IPC at the Holenaraseepur town police station in Hassan district. The criminal case initiated based on a complaint from one of the victims, and the SIT, led by senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer BK Singh, is conducting the investigation.
