SIT says no non-bailable charges in H D Revanna sexual abuse case; he withdraws bail application

PTI, May 3, 2024, 7:49 PM IST

JD(S) MLA and former minister H D Revanna on Friday withdrew his bail application in a Bengaluru sessions court, after a Special Investigation Team told the court that there are no non-bailable charges against him in the case of his alleged sexual abuse of his house-help.

Revanna, who is a JD(S) MLA from Holenarasipura constituency in Hassan district, is the son of former prime minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda and elder brother of former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy. He moved the court after a case of molestation was registered against him and his son Prajwal Revanna by a woman who worked in their household.

Prajwal is the current MP of Hassan and also the Lok Sabha poll candidate of the BJP-JD(S) alliance. Scores of explicit video clips allegedly involving the 33-year-old MP sexually abusing several women had started making the rounds in Hassan in recent days. Polling was held in Hassan on April 26, after which the JD(S) leadership suspended Prajwal.

The JD(S) had joined the NDA in September last year. Revanna’s decision follows a clarification from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) indicating that they have not invoked any non-bailable charges against him in the case of alleged sexual abuse.

The development comes against the backdrop of heightened scrutiny surrounding Revanna’s familial ties and political prominence within the JD(S). Revanna withdrew his bail application after the SIT’s clarification to the sessions court, affirming that no non-bailable charges have been levelled against him in the case.