SC refuses to set aside anticipatory bail given to Bhavani Revanna in kidnapping case
A bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan told the Karnataka SIT lawyer not to politicise the issue and asked what would her role in the crimes committed by her son
New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to set aside the anticipatory bail granted to Bhavani Revanna, the mother of suspended JD(S) leader and rape accused Prajwal Revanna, in a kidnapping case involving one of the victims of her son's alleged sexual assaults.
A bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice to Bhavani Revanna on the appeal filed by the Karnataka government challenging the Karnataka High Court order.
"The accused is a woman who is aged 55 years. There are serious allegations against her son of indulging in atrocious things. He ran away and eventually, he was caught.
"In a case of this kind of allegations, what will be the role of the mother in abetting the crime committed by her son?" the bench told senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Karnataka government.
Sibal said the relief granted was the "most unfortunate" and the victim was under captivity on the directions of the family.
"There is nothing... let us not politicise the matter," the bench observed.
The high court had on June 18 granted anticipatory bail to Bhavani Revanna while emphasising that she had already answered 85 questions during the investigation, making it unfair to claim she was not cooperating with the SIT, which is probing the sexual abuse cases against her son.
The SIT had sought her custody in connection with the kidnapping of a house help in K R Nagar in Mysuru district after she failed to appear for questioning.
The high court, while allowing Bhavani Revanna's petition seeking anticipatory bail, urged that media trials be avoided and underlined the importance of not making unnecessary arrests of women, noting their central role in families.
The high court had also highlighted that the allegations of non-cooperation were unconvincing since Bhavani Revanna had already provided extensive responses during her interrogation. The court dismissed the SIT's argument that she had given misleading answers.
On June 7, the court granted interim anticipatory bail to Bhavani Revanna with conditions preventing her from entering Mysuru and Hassan districts, and it was later extended on June 14.
The court had permitted the SIT to take her to Hassan and Mysuru districts for investigation.
Bhavani Revanna is accused of trying to prevent the victim, who was allegedly sexually assaulted by her son, from filing a complaint.
Prajwal Revanna is currently in SIT custody for allegedly sexually abusing several women and capturing the assaults on video.
The cases of sexual abuse came to light after pen drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna were reportedly circulated in Hassan ahead of the Lok Sabha polls there on April 26.
SIT officials arrested Prajwal Revanna soon after he landed at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport from Germany on May 31. He had left for Germany on April 27, a day after Hassan went to the polls.
A 'Blue Corner Notice' seeking information on his whereabouts had earlier been issued by the Interpol, following a request by the SIT via the Central Bureau of Investigation. PTI