SC refuses to set aside anticipatory bail given to Bhavani Revanna in kidnapping case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to set aside the anticipatory bail granted to Bhavani Revanna, the mother of suspended JD(S) MP 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 Revanna on the appeal filed by the Karnataka government challenging a 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.
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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.
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Right to vote under threat, must be made fundamental right: Cong's Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Thursday that the right to vote is under threat and the time has come when it should be made a fundamental right for citizens.
Speaking with reporters, Ramesh lashed out at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, saying the Election Commission (EC) has never been as compromised as it has been under him.
"The rot started under his predecessor. This man is a player and not a neutral observer," the Congress leader said, slamming Kumar.
Kumar is completely compromised and has become a player in elections, he alleged.
"Home Minister Amit Shah had talked about three Ds -- detect, delete and deport. So we want to know how many non-Indian citizens have been detected, how many have been deleted and how many have been deported," Ramesh said, adding that the right to vote is now under threat.
On opposition parties submitting a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to move a motion for the CEC's removal, the Congress leader said they will continue to make efforts for Kumar's removal as he is "compromised".
Ramesh also batted for the right to vote to be recognised as a fundamental right.
"I believe that the time has come that the right to vote should be made a fundamental right. It is a statutory right, it is not a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are justiciable," he said.
The former Union minister said this was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, but it was eventually decided that it should be made part of the Constitution.
B R Ambedkar and Jagjivan Ram had warned that in the future, governments might try to disenfranchise voters, he added.
"Once and for all, include the right to vote as a fundamental right for Indian citizens," Ramesh asserted.
