Bengaluru/New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Thursday shot off another letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government, seeking the cancellation of the diplomatic passport issued to absconding MP Prajwal Revanna, who is accused of having sexually assaulted multiple women, abusing his power, and criminal intimidation, among other serious offences.
The letter, dated 22 May and shared officially with the media Thursday, reiterates the state government’s demands to bring back Revanna. Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told ThePrint that they have received a letter from the Karnataka government for cancellation of diplomatic passport in respect of MP Prajwal Revanna and the request is now “being processed”. “We are looking into this request and it is being processed,” the source said.
Earlier, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said that the direction should come from a court to revoke a person’s diplomatic passport. “So far, we haven’t received any such direction from any court,” he had said.
In his letter, Siddaramaiah said it was “shameful” that the 33-year-old sitting MP of Hassan and grandson of former PM, H.D. Deve Gowda, fled on a diplomatic passport “shortly after the news of his heinous crimes emerged and just a few hours before the first FIR was filed against him.”
Revanna fled to Germany hours after polling for Lok Sabha elections on 26 April using his diplomatic passport that comes with certain privileges.
The state government on 1 May asked the Centre to take necessary action to bring back Revanna. The SIT had asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to issue an Interpol blue-corner notice two days later.
However, the state government has not been able to convince the Centre to bring back the MP, who is also an alliance candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), coalition in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
On Wednesday, G. Parameshwara, Karnataka’s minister for home affairs, told reporters that the central government was yet to accept the earlier requests of the state to cancel Revanna’s passport and that the local administration would not travel overseas to bring back the absconding MP.
The scandal surfaced in the last week of April and has since occupied national and international headlines as, by estimates, there are over 3,000 obscene videos that are doing the rounds. According to a senior police officer, the videos of Revanna allegedly sexually exploiting women are at least two years old.
Victims who spoke to ThePrint had expressed their fears about going against the family of former H.D. Deve Gowda and his former minister son, H.D. Revanna, who are counted among the most powerful political families in the state and the country.
Meanwhile, the SIT and the state government have not been able to make any major breakthrough in the case and are awaiting action from the Centre.
Also Read: ‘We won’t be bought’ — family of Mysuru woman accuses Prajwal of rape, says she was ‘kidnapped’
‘Last warning’
On Thursday, 92-year-old former Deve Gowda also issued a strongly worded statement asking his grandson Revanna to return and face the legal process.
In the letter titled “My warning to Prajwal Revanna”, Deve Gowda refers to himself as the national president of the JD(S) and not as former PM, as was the norm up until Thursday.
Gowda posted the letter on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), stating that Revanna should “not test my patience any further”. The former PM said that people were speaking ill of the Gowda family because of these allegations.
“I also cannot convince people that I was unaware of Prajwal’s activities. I cannot convince them that I have no desire to shield him. I cannot convince them that I am not aware of his movements and that I was not aware of a foreign trip,” Gowda wrote in his letter.
I have issued a warning to @iPrajwalRevanna to return immediately from wherever he is and subject himself to the legal process. He should not test my patience any further. pic.twitter.com/kCMuNJOvAo
— H D Deve Gowda (@H_D_Devegowda) May 23, 2024
On 22 May, former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy also appealed that Revanna should return and face the law, adding that there was no reason for him to run away if he did no wrong. Kumaraswamy has tried to shield himself, his father Deve Gowda, and the party from the scandal, which has the potential to add to the JD(S) political downslide.
Though Kumaraswamy has maintained that Revanna should be punished if found guilty, he has also levelled charges against the state Congress president, D.K. Shivakumar for circulating the obscene videos without blurring the faces of the alleged victims.
Around 3,000 videos are being circulated, but the SIT has neither been able to determine the number of women allegedly exploited nor been able to convince more victims to come forward and lodge formal complaints against Revanna, according to statements made by Kumaraswamy, activists and others.
Moreover, the SIT has been tightlipped about the arrests made in the case, but a total of four women have made official complaints, with three of them accusing the MP of rape.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi called Prajwal Revanna a “mass rapist” and alleged that over 400 women were exploited by the Hassan MP.
Revanna’s father H.D. Revanna, is out on bail after spending around 10 days in jail after he was accused of kidnapping a woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by his son.
‘Blue corner notice’
According to Union minister and senior BJP leader Pralhad Joshi, there is a process for the cancellation of the diplomatic passport. “There is a process to get him (Prajwal) back from abroad and the Government of India is ready to extend cooperation to the state government by following necessary processes in accordance with law,” PTI quoted Joshi as telling reporters in Kalaburagi Thursday.
He, however, accused the Siddaramaiah-led state government of not taking adequate action against Revanna when he was in the country and then blamed the BJP-led central government for not bringing the MP back. “But the Karnataka government, more than the probe, is trying to do politics in this case,” he added.
A blue-corner notice has been issued against Prajwal Revanna. According to Interpol, a blue-corner notice is part of its colour-coded notices by which it can “collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation.”
According to Section 10(3) under the Passports Act, 1967, the passport authority may impound or revoke a passport on various grounds, including if the holder is in “wrongful possession” of the passport; has been convicted by an Indian court for any offence and is sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years; and if any proceedings against the holder are “pending before a criminal court” in India.
Currently, an investigation by the SIT against Revanna for alleged sexual harassment is underway. “The investigation will proceed. After that, appropriate action will be taken,” the MEA spokesperson had said.
The Passports Act also mentions that the passport authority has the power to cancel a passport if a warrant or summons for the appearance, or a warrant for the arrest, of the passport holder has been “issued by a court under”. This may also apply if there is a court order “prohibiting” the passport holder’s departure from India.
A passport may also be impounded or revoked if a court has convicted the passport holder of any offence under this Act. An order of revocation may be made by an appellate court or by the High Court.
Speaking to ThePrint, a government official said that to revoke a passport is an “extreme step” and requires solid grounds.
“The Government of India can revoke his (Revanna) passport but that is done in extreme cases. If the passport is revoked, he will be unable to stay back in Germany and the country will issue him a travel document to return to India,” the official said.
“This, however, doesn’t mean that Prajwal cannot seek asylum in the country alleging political persecution. In most cases where India has good relations with the country where the accused in a case is hiding, a request is made to cancel the visa. Upon cancellation of the visa, the person has to leave the country,” the official explained, adding that in this case, since there is no chargesheet that has been filed, it does not make for a very “strong case.”
According to the official, the Act also says that a passport can be revoked for a person who has been convicted by an Indian court for any offence and is sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years; and if any proceedings against the holder are “pending before a criminal court” in India.
“Right now there is only an FIR, which has been registered in the matter. It will have to be seen how the investigation progresses and how strong a case it is for revocation of a passport. All these things will be taken into account,” the official told ThePrint.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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