HC refuses to stall probe against ex-BJP MLA Preetham Gowda in case linked to Prajwal Revanna
Bengaluru, Jun 28: The Karnataka High Court on Friday refused to stall the investigation against former Hassan BJP MLA Preetham Gowda, who is accused of distributing explicit videos of sexual assault allegedly involving former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna.
Gowda had filed a petition seeking to quash the FIR registered against him under Section 67, 66E of the Information Technology Act and Sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code.
A single judge bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit passed the interim order while issuing notice to the respondents.
However, the court said that Gowda should not be arrested or detained as long as he cooperates with the investigation.
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It also said this order shall not come in the way of any material discovered by the police.
Gowda, who lost the Assembly polls in May last year, was named as an accused in the fourth FIR registered against Prajwal Revanna by a woman.
Four separate cases have been registered against Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of the former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, all of which are being investigated by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
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 Lok Sabha polls there on April 26.
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Indictment row: Rahul Gandhi demands Adani's arrest, accuses govt of protecting him
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said businessman Gautam Adani should be arrested after his indictment in the US and accused the government of protecting him.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said when hundreds of people are arrested on "tiny" charges in the country, why is Adani not in jail?
The reiteration by Gandhi comes hours after the Adani Group said the billionaire and his nephew Sagar Adani have not been charged with any violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the indictment filed by US authorities in a court in a bribery case.
The duo has been charged with securities fraud that involves levy of monetary penalties.
"You think the Adanis are going to accept the charges. Which world are you living in? Obviously, he is going to deny the charges," Gandhi said when asked about the denial of charges by the Adani Group.
"The point is he has to be arrested. As we have said, hundreds of people are being arrested on tiny charges and the gentleman has been indicted in the United States for thousands of crores. He should be in jail... The government is protecting him," the former Congress chief said.
Gandhi was the first to demand the arrest of Adani after charges of alleged bribery were made out by the US against the businessman.
Earlier, Adani's lawyer Mukul Rohtagi said there are no specific charges against the businessman or his associates and the accusations of bribery are very general and no specifics on who gave the bribe to whom are not specified.
