Why did Karnataka HC cite the Kerala Actress Assault Case in rejecting Prajwal Revanna’s plea?
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court, reviewing the sex video scandal involving former JD-S MP Prajwal Revanna, stated that the law cannot be altered due to the involvement of Revanna. The bench, led by Justice M. Nagaprasanna, made this observation on Thursday while hearing Prajwal’s petition regarding the production of documents and electronic evidence seized from his driver’s mobile phone.
"No breach of privacy of other women should be done. Forget about others. The victims' images are here, they are obscene to the core. Just because it is Prajwal Revanna, the law cannot be changed,” the bench remarked. Prajwal Revanna had sought access to the entire data from the mobile phone. The court, however, restricted access, stating it would only allow inspection of the images, excluding any data related to other women.
Court Restricts Access to Electronic Evidence
Prajwal’s counsel had submitted that the phone had been thoroughly examined by the investigators. "Every investigating officer has examined the material. The electronic evidence and records should be treated as evidence," the counsel stated. The prosecution, however, objected to the request for access to the entire data.
The bench remarked that if the petitioner seeks data concerning other women, it cannot be provided. “In cases pertaining to the privacy of the victim, the court can only arrange for inspection. Any means of inspection could be provided, but it can’t be provided to you in the form of a pen drive,” the court clarified. The court further noted that Prajwal Revanna cannot demand data of other women in this case, calling it an act of attempting to "pull the clock back." The court also remarked that everything in the case is obscene, and there is a limit to obscenity.
Judicial Precedent in the Kerala Actress Assault Case
The court referenced the Supreme Court’s 2019 judgment in the P. Gopalkrishnan alias Dileep vs. State of Kerala case, popularly known as the Kerala actress assault case, where the accused was allowed to inspect assault visuals but was not granted a copy of the memory card. The bench noted that, as per the Supreme Court ruling, only materials directly relevant to the case, such as the victim’s statements and photographs, could be inspected, and not the entire data. The court observed that in line with the Kerala actress assault case, data stored on memory cards or pen drives qualifies as "documents" under the Indian Evidence Act, and must be disclosed to the accused under Section 207 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Charges Against Prajwal Revanna
Prajwal Revanna faces serious charges under Sections 354 (A) (sexual harassment), 354 (B) (assault or use of criminal force on a woman with an intent to disrobe her), 354 (C) (act of watching or capturing a woman’s image while she is engaging in a private act), 376 (2) (N) (aggravated form of rape committed by public servants), 376 (2) (K) (rape by a person in a position of control), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the IPC, and Section 66 (E) of the IT Act.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the case has submitted a 1,691-page charge sheet to the Special Court for MLAs/MPs. The charge sheet claims that the victim was raped at gunpoint, with the incident recorded in a video. The victim was repeatedly sexually assaulted, with threats of making the video public. It is also mentioned that the victim had not dared to file a complaint due to fear.