The Karnataka High Court today granted interim anticipatory bail to suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna’s mother Bhavani Revanna in a kidnapping case related to the sexual abuse allegations against her son.
The Karnataka High Court stayed an arrest warrant issued earlier against her by an Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) and directed the police not to arrest or detain her.
Nonetheless, Justice Krishna S Dixit cautioned that the grant of anticipatory bail should not be celebrated and also imposed conditions to ensure that Bhavani Revanna cooperates with the investigation against her. Furthermore, Bhavani Revanna was ordered to appear before the concerned investigating officer at 1 PM today and fully cooperate with the investigation.
The High Court added that Bhavani Revanna should not enter the area of KR Nagar, Mysore district or Hassan district where the alleged offence of kidnapping took place.
Prajwal Revanna’s mother is accused of being involved in kidnapping a woman who was sexually assaulted by the Janata Dal (Secular) suspended leader. Prajwal Revanna is currentlly under arrest in connection with allegations that he sexually assaulted multiple women and captured visuals of the assault.
Previous month, visuals of the assault, captured in more than 2,900 videos, surfaced after pen drives of the same were left in several public places in Karnataka. Amid a political storm that followed, Prajwal Revanna was reported to have fled the country and gone to Germany.
Later, he was arrested upon his return back to India on May 31. A trial court on Thursday in Bengaluru extended a Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) custody of Prajwal Revanna till June 10. Notably, both of Prajwal Revanna’s parents face allegations that they kidnapped a woman who was assaulted by him.
Appearing for the SIT today, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Ravivarma Kumar told the High Court that Bhavani Revanna was the mastermind behind the kidnapping plot. Subsequently, the court proceeded to incorporate this aspect as a condition for anticipatory bail. The matter will be heard again next week.