The trial court in Bengaluru recently refused to close the rape case filed against suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna on allegations that he repeatedly raped his maid and recorded videos of the act. .In an order passed on April 3, Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat also framed criminal charges against Revanna for the offences under the following provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC):- Section 376(2)(k) (rape of a woman by a person who is in a dominant position or a position of control);- Section 376(2)(n) (repeatedly raping a woman);- Section 354A (outraging modesty);- Section 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe);- Section 354C (voyeurism)- Section 506 (criminal intimidation); and- Section 201 (causing the disappearance of evidence of a crime).Additionally, Revanna has also been charged with the offence under Section 66E of the Information Technology Act, 2008, which punishes acts that violate the privacy of a person, such as by circulating private images without consent. The trial court is slated to hear the case next on April 9. .The case involves allegations that a maid who used to work at a farmhouse belonging to the Revanna family was repeatedly raped by Prajwal Revanna, the first such incident being around 2021 amid the COVID-lockdown. She claimed that she did not speak out about the incident as Revanna recorded visuals of the assault and threatened to leak them.She eventually quit her job and kept quiet until reports emerged of the visuals of such sexual assault being leaked.According to reports, over 2,900 videos depicting the sexual assault of several women were circulated online including on social media.This led her to file a complaint last year. Four such cases were eventually registered against Revanna. Amid public uproar, Revanna fled to Germany soon after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the State. He was arrested upon his return to India on May 31, 2024 and has been in jail since. .The Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the case filed its chargesheet in August 2024.In response, Prajwal Revanna filed an application to discharge him from the case, contending that there was not enough evidence to implicate him in the case.Revanna's counsel argued that the grave allegations made against him were far from the truth and were part of attempts to tarnish his reputation. Revanna also questioned the delay in reporting the alleged rape incident, given that the first such assault was alleged to have taken place in 2021.The SIT countered that four volumes of materials have been collected against Revanna, and that videos of the sexual assault were found to be authentic after forensic analysis.On April 3, the trial court rejected Revanna's discharge application on finding that there was sufficient material to frame charges against him and conduct trial.The Court clarified that issues such as the delay in reporting the crime and the failure to recover the original device on which visuals of the alleged assault were recorded, may have to be explained by the prosecution. However, these are aspects that can be examined during the trial, not while considering a discharge application, the Court said.It added that the testimony of the complainant appeared to be trustworthy enough to have the case proceed to trial."It is to be presumed in ordinary prudence that no women would come before the court to make statement about her own chastity which is considered to be much more important than being alive in normal Indian traditional society," it said.The trial court also rejected Revanna's argument that the SIT did not have the power to file a chargesheet since it is not a "police station." Notably, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) empowers only those in charge of a police station to file final reports/ chargesheets.The Court reasoned that the SIT was carved out of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) and comprised of CID officials on deputation. Therefore, the Court opined that the SIT would also be part of the CID, which was deemed to be a police station following a January 2024 notification..Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam and Advocate Arun G appeared for Prajwal Revanna. .Special Public Prosecutors BN Jagadish and Ashok Naik represented the SIT. .[Read Orders]
