Karnataka High Court grants interim relief to mother of Prajwal Revanna in kidnapping case

The Karnataka High Court on Friday granted interim anticipatory bail to Bhavani Revanna in a kidnapping case linked to the sexual abuse allegations against her son, suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna. .The Court stayed an arrest warrant issued earlier against her by an Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) and ordered the police not to arrest or detain her.Justice Krishna S Dixit, however, warned that the grant of anticipatory bail should not be "celebrated" and also imposed conditions to ensure that Bhavani Revanna cooperates with the investigation against her.To this end, Bhavani Revanna was ordered to appear before the concerned investigating officer at 1 PM today and fully cooperate with the investigation. The Court added that Bhavani Revanna should not enter the area of KR Nagar, Mysore district or Hassan district where the alleged offence of kidnapping took place. The matter will be heard again next week. .Bhavani Revanna is accused of being involved in kidnapping a woman who was sexually assaulted by Prajwal Revanna. Prajwal Revanna is presently under arrest in connection with allegations that he sexually assaulted several women and captured visuals of the assault. Last month, visuals of the assault, captured in over 2,900 videos, surfaced after pen drives of the same were left in several public places in Karnataka. Amid the political storm that followed, Prajwal Revanna was reported to have fled the country and gone to Germany. He was arrested upon his return back to India on May 31. Yesterday, a trial court in Bengaluru extended a Special Investigation Team's (SIT) custody of Prajwal Revanna till June 10. .Meanwhile, both of Prajwal Revanna's parents face allegations that they kidnapped a woman who was assaulted by Prajwal Revanna. Appearing for the SIT today, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Ravivarma Kumar told the High Court that Bhavani Revanna was the mastermind behind the kidnapping plot. "She is the mastermind, I will demonstrate. Let her not enter Hassan and Mysore," the SPP urged the Court. The Court proceeded to incorporate this aspect as a condition for anticipatory bail. The matter will be heard again next week. .The Court today also briefly heard two other connected matters. A plea by the SIT to cancel the bail earlier granted to HD Revanna in the kidnapping case has been adjourned till next week on a request by Revanna's counsel. A petition by HD Revanna to quash the first information report (FIR) against him in the same case has been posted after two weeks, with the respondents (State authorities) being asked to respond by then.