SC trashes Prajwal Revanna’s plea to transfer rape cases to another Bengaluru court
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a plea by former JD-S MP Prajwal Revanna, grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, seeking transfer of the trial in rape cases from a Special MP/MLA Court in Bengaluru to another sessions court.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi declined to accept Revanna’s contention that the trial judge was prejudiced against him.
Observing that an earlier conviction by the same court in another rape case could not be a ground to infer bias, the CJI-led Bench said: “We have no reason to doubt that the officer would not be swayed by the fact that the petitioner was found guilty in the earlier case and will confine his conclusions on the basis of evidence led in the pending trial.”
Senior advocates Siddharth Luthra and Siddharth Dave, appearing for Revanna, argued that remarks made by the trial judge against the counsel in the earlier case reflected bias.
However, the apex court clarified that such observations “cannot be the ground of bias” and permitted Revanna to approach the Karnataka High Court only for expunction of the remarks.
Revanna approached the Supreme Court after the Karnataka High Court rejected two writ petitions seeking transfer of trials on charges of rape, sexual harassment, voyeurism, criminal intimidation and violations under the IT Act, from the Special MP/MLA Court to another sessions court in Bengaluru.
In an order passed on September 24, a single-judge Bench of Justice M.I. Arun had held that the Special MP/MLA Court was specifically designated to try offences involving sitting and former legislators, and transfer could not be sought merely because the accused perceived the proceedings to be harsh.
Justice Arun had noted that Revanna had already been convicted in another case, and the trial court’s insistence on day-to-day proceedings did not establish bias.
“The observations in the judgment may sound a bit harsh, but that cannot be construed as a bias on the part of the Presiding Officer. Admittedly, the petitioner has tried to drag the case intentionally and resort to delay tactics, which have been frowned upon by the trial court. If that can be a ground for transfer, there would be petitions filed for transfer in almost all criminal cases where the accused feels that he may get convicted,” the Karnataka High Court had said.
Revanna, who is already serving a life sentence in another rape case tried by the same court, continues to face multiple prosecutions arising from complaints alleging repeated sexual assault and intimidation.
