Bengaluru, 18 June

Karnataka High Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to Bhavani Revanna, mother of former JD(S) MP and rape accused Prajwal Revanna, in a kidnapping case involving one of the victims of her son's sexual assaults.

The Court emphasised that Bhavani had already answered 85 questions during the investigation, making it unfair to claim she was not cooperating with the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing sexual abuse cases against Prajwal.

The SIT had sought her custody in connection with the kidnapping of a house-help in K R Nagar in Mysuru district, after she failed to attend questioning.

Justice Krishna S Dixit, while allowing Bhavani's petition seeking anticipatory bail, urged that media trials be avoided and underlined the importance of not making unnecessary arrests of women, noting their central role in families.

The judge also highlighted that the allegations of non-cooperation were unconvincing since Bhavani had already provided extensive responses during her interrogation. The Court dismissed the SIT's argument that she had given misleading answers.

On June 7, the court had granted interim anticipatory bail to Bhavani with conditions preventing her from entering Mysuru and Hassan districts, and it was then extended on 14 June.