JD(S) MLC Suraj Revanna gets conditional bail in sexual abuse case

Janata Dal (Secular) MLC Suraj Revanna, arrested in June for alleged sexual assault of a male worker of the party, was granted conditional bail on Monday.

The court set multiple bail conditions for Suraj, the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister of India, HD Deve Gowda. The member of Karnataka’s legislative council, 36, must not ‘threaten’ the complainant/victim and contact the latter directly or indirectly, the court said.

Also, Suraj cannot ‘evade’ the probe and must present himself before the investigating officer whenever called for the purpose of investigation, and on the second Sunday of every month. He has also been asked to mark his ‘attendance’ between 9 am and 5 pm for six months or until the charge sheet is filed, which ever is earlier.

Additionally, the Bengaluru court directed the accused to surrender his passport to the court and take its written permission to leave the state.

The JD(S) leader, son of party legislator HD Revanna and nephew of Union minister and ex-Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, has been booked under IPC sections 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (involvement of others in the conspiracy). He has categorically denied the sexual assault charge, and in a counter, accused the man of trying to extort ₹five crore from him. The 27-year-old JD(S) worker was subsequently booked in an extortion case on a complaint by a close aide of Suraj.

Earlier, Suraj Revanna’s younger Prajwal was arrested on charges of rape in three cases and for alleged sexual abuse of several women. Their father, too, is out on bail; he was arrested for allegedly kidnapping one of the women who accused Prajwal.