JD(S) MLC Suraj Revanna gets conditional bail in sexual abuse case | Latest News from India

Janata Dal (Secular) MLC Suraj Revanna, arrested in June for alleged sexual assault on a male party employee, was released on bail on Monday.

The court imposed several bail conditions on Suraj, grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister of India HD Deve Gowda. The 36-year-old member of the Karnataka Legislative Council must not “threaten” the complainant/victim or contact her directly or indirectly, the court said.

Further, Suraj cannot “evade” the investigation and will have to present himself before the investigating officer whenever he is called for investigation 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 chargesheet is filed, whichever is earlier.

The Bengaluru court also asked the accused to surrender his passport to the court and seek its written permission to leave the state.

The JD(S) leader, son of party MP HD Revanna and nephew of Union Minister and former Chief Minister of Karnataka HD Kumaraswamy, has been booked under sections 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (involvement of others in conspiracy) of the IPC. He has categorically denied the charge of sexual assault and in a counter statement accused the man of trying to ₹five crore from him. The 27-year-old JD(S) worker was subsequently charged with extortion based on a complaint by one of Suraj’s close associates.

Earlier, Suraj Revanna’s younger Prajwal was arrested for three counts of rape and alleged sexual abuse of several women. Her father is also out on bail. He was arrested for allegedly kidnapping one of the women who accused Prajwal.

(With PTI inputs)