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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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Pune, Feb 10 (PTI): Amidst high drama, former Maharashtra minister Tanaji Sawant’s son Rishiraj was brought back to Pune along with two friends on late Monday evening, cutting short their trip to Bangkok, hours after police filed a kidnapping case, officials said.

According to Ranjan Kumar Sharma, joint commissioner of police, Rishiraj Sawant (32) and his two friends had booked a chartered plane for Bangkok without informing his family, but an anonymous phone call spoilt their travel plans.

After police registered a kidnapping case following the anonymous call made to the control room, his whereabouts were traced and he was brought back to Pune along with his friends, he said at a hurriedly convened press conference.

"Our police control room received a call around 4 pm in which an anonymous caller informed us that Rishiraj was taken away by some unidentified people. Accordingly, we swung into action and registered a kidnapping offence.

"During the probe, it was revealed Rishiraj along with his two friends had booked a chartered plane for Bangkok. We tracked the flight and contacted the airline for the aircraft's return. The flight has now returned to Pune with three passengers, including Rishiraj," informed Sharma.

"We will enquire and find out the purpose of his trip to Bangkok and why he did not inform the family about his travel plans," the police officer said.

While replying to a question, Tanaji Sawant, who was present at the police briefing, denied any dispute with his son.

According to police sources, the flight to the Thailand capital was booked for Rs 78 lakh.

The former minister said he contacted police after coming to know his son had left for the airport with friends without informing the family.

A week ago, Rishiraj Sawant had gone to Dubai, but this trip was known to family members, said the senior politician.

Asked about the police machinery going into an overdrive to trace his son and bring him back, the former minister maintained was worried as a father.

Joint commissioner of police Sharma said the anonymous call indicated Rishiraj Sawant was taken away by unidentified people and on that basis, an FIR of kidnapping was registered.

The IPS officer opined that in such cases, things do not proceed unless an FIR is registered and that is why police moved quickly and filed an offence.

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