Karnataka HC directs rape accused Prajwal Revanna to seek bail from sessions court

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday directed rape accused Prajwal Revanna to approach the sessions court to seek bail.

Justice SR Krishna Kumar said the suspended JD(S) leader may return to the High Court, if necessary, after the lower court considers his plea.

The judge observed that Revanna should exhaust all remedies before the trial court before seeking intervention from the High Court.

This was the accused's second attempt to secure bail in the case.

Revanna’s earlier plea for bail was dismissed by the HC in October 2023. Subsequently, the Supreme Court also declined to grant him relief.

Advocate Prabhuling Navadgi, appearing for Revanna, argued that the court was well within its powers to hear the bail application directly.

However, the bench maintained that the correct legal course would be to first move to the sessions court.

The High Court has directed the trial court to decide on the fresh bail plea within 10 days from the date of its filing.

In March 2024, he filed a fresh bail application in the HC, citing a "change in circumstances”.

His legal team argued that the prolonged delay in commencing the trial had resulted in a violation of his fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty.

The FIRs were filed after around 3,000 video clips allegedly depicting sexual violence were widely shared on social media platforms.

The first FIR was filed in April 2023 by a domestic worker employed at Revanna’s family-owned farmhouse. She accused him of repeatedly raping her and threatening to leak footage of the abuse if she spoke out.

According to her complaint, the assaults began in 2021.

The trial court framed several charges against Revanna, including rape, criminal intimidation, voyeurism, and distribution of private images without consent.