Law cannot be bent for you: Karnataka High Court to Prajwal Revanna

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday said that suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna - who is accused of sexually assaulting multiple women - can only be allowed to examine digital evidence concerning the victim who made the complaint against him and not other victims/ women. .Though Revanna's counsel maintained that the images or digital evidence sought to be examined by him are not necessarily obscene, the Court rejected the argument and said that law cannot be bent for Revanna."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 said.Revanna, who is accused in at least four separate cases of rape, sexual assault and criminal intimidation, had approached the High Court last week seeking copies of all digital evidence collected against him by the State Special Investigation Team (SIT).Justice Nagaprasanna today made it clear that while Revanna is entitled to receive copies of evidence pertaining to his cases, the Court will not permit anything that might reveal the identities of victims other than the complainant in the case before the trial court."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," Justice Nagaprasanna remarked. .Just because you are Prajwal Revanna, the law can't be bent for you.Karnataka High Court.Meanwhile, Additional Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) BN Jagadeesha told the Court that Revanna’s petition was only a tactic to delay the trial in the case..The Court eventually directed that Revanna should be allowed to examine the digital evidence concerning the victim in the present case in line with Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (now replaced by similar provisions in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita). "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 said while closing Revanna's plea. .The Court also allowed State to withhold from Revanna whatever is required in accordance with the law. "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, " the judge added..Earlier, Additional SPP Jagadeesha had informed the Court that the prosecution had already provided copies of the images and videos that pertained to the four cases against Revanna. However, he has now asked for copies of over 15,000 images and 2,000 videos recovered from a Samsung phone that allegedly belonged to his driver, the Court was told.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, Jagadeesha had informed..Revanna, the son of former minister HD Revanna and grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, is facing charges of rape and sexual abuse and has four cases registered against him based on different complaints.On August 24 this year, the Special Investigating Team (SIT), which is investigating four cases of sexual assault and harassment against Revanna, filed a 2,144-page-long chargesheet, the first in the four cases, before the special court which hears cases relating to legislators..[Read Live Coverage].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.