Karnataka HC denies Prajwal Revanna access to digital evidence of other victims

Vartha Bharati | 16-01-2025 | 19:50:00 IST

JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna

Bengaluru, Jan 16 (PTI): The Karnataka High Court on Thursday ruled that suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna, who faces multiple allegations of sexual assault, can only examine digital evidence related to the complainant in the present case and not that of other women.

Revanna had approached the court seeking access to all digital evidence collected by the State Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the cases against him. However, Justice M Nagaprasanna firmly rejected this request, stating that the law would not be bent in his favour.

“The images here, even of the victim, are obscene. Just because you are Prajwal Revanna, the law can’t be bent for you,” the judge remarked.

Revanna, accused in at least four separate cases of rape, sexual assault, and criminal intimidation, argued that the digital evidence he sought was not necessarily obscene.

However, the court dismissed this claim, emphasising the importance of protecting the privacy of other victims.

"You are entitled to evidence in the case related to Section 376 (alleged rape of a domestic worker), but if you are trying to extract material related to all the women you have had escapades with, that cannot be permitted. When they have not given any statements against you, why invade their privacy?" Justice Nagaprasanna said.

Additional Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) B N Jagadeesha argued that Revanna’s petition was a tactic to delay the trial. He informed the court that while copies of images and videos relevant to the four cases had already been provided to the defence, Revanna was now seeking access to over 15,000 images and 2,000 videos recovered from a Samsung phone allegedly belonging to his driver.

Many of these files contain details of other victims, and disclosing them would not only delay proceedings but also risk exposing their identities before the trial court, the prosecutor cautioned.

The High Court ruled that Revanna could inspect digital evidence and statements only with the present case, in line with Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (now part of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) and the Supreme Court’s ruling in P Gopalakrishnan vs State of Kerala.

The court also permitted the prosecution to withhold evidence as per legal provisions. "It is his right to ask under Section 207, but whatever he is entitled to will be per the Gopalakrishnan judgment," the judge clarified.

Revanna, the son of former minister H D Revanna and grandson of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, is currently facing multiple charges of sexual assault. The SIT, which is investigating these cases, had earlier submitted a 2,144-page chargesheet in one of the cases.

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SGPC writes to Mann, seeks ban on 'Emergency' in Punjab a day before release

16-01-2025 ¦ 16-01-2025 IST

Amritsar, Jan 16 (PTI): The SGPC on Thursday wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a ban on the release of Kangana Ranaut's movie 'Emergency' saying it "tarnishes" the image of Sikhs and "misrepresents" history.

Actor and BJP MP Ranaut's 'Emergency' is slated to release in cinemas on January 17.

In the letter to Mann, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong objection to Ranaut's film.

Dhami said that if the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state.

The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had earlier also protested the film.

"It has come to our attention that the movie 'Emergency' produced by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is going to be released on 17th January 2025 in cinemas in different cities of Punjab and the tickets have also started to be booked," its letter to Mann read.

Dhami said the SGPC had also protested the release of the movie in a letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary on November 14 last year.

"But it is sad that the Punjab government has not taken any step till now. If this film is released on January 17, 2025, then it is natural to create outrage and anger in the Sikh world," the current letter read.

Dhami said the SGPC will submit a letter also to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.

The SGPC denounced the "character assassination" of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani militant killed in 1984 in a military operation.

"If this film is released in Punjab, we will be forced to strongly oppose it at the state level," Dhami said.

In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the producers of the 'Emergency' film, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove the objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.

In the notice, the producers of the film, including Kangana Ranaut, were asked to remove the trailer released on August 14 from all public and social media platforms and tender a written apology to the Sikh community.

The SGPC objected to film writing separate letters to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification.

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