Karnataka JDS MP Prajwal Revanna seeks anticipatory bail in sex assault cases ahead of return from Europe

A vakalath is a vakalatnama, or a memorandum of appearance or by any other document by which an advocate or any other legal practitioner is empowered to appear and plead before any court, tribunal, authority or person.

The adjournment of the anticipatory bail pleas of Prajwal Revanna to May 31 – the date on which the MP has stated he will return from Europe – will result in the arrest of the JDS MP on his purported arrival in the early hours of May 31 at the Bengaluru International Airport.

Prajwal Revanna, who fled to Europe on April 27, shortly after his alleged sex videos containing instances of sexual assault of women emerged in the public domain, stated in a video sent by email to media outlets on Monday that he would be returning on May 31 and would face a Special Investigation Team probing the sex assault cases against him at 10 am.

The JDS MP, who is also the NDA candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, has claimed that his exit from India on April 27 was a part of a pre-planned tour of Europe.

On Wednesday, a return ticket to Bengaluru for the MP from Munich on a Lufthansa flight leaving at 12.15 pm from Germany on May 30 and arriving in Bengaluru at 12.20 am on May 31 was circulated with media outlets by associates of the MP.

Sources in the SIT said they were verifying the authenticity of the flight tickets for Prajwal Revanna and that a confirmation of his arrival can be provided only after he boards a flight on foreign shores and a message is relayed to the SIT authorities on the basis of an Interpol Blue Corner notice issued for the MP at the instance of the SIT.

The SIT has obtained an arrest warrant to take Prajwal Revanna into custody as soon as he arrives in Bengaluru in the early hours of May 31 as indicated by the MP.

“There are a few options before the accused at present other than to return and face the law since his diplomatic passport will expire on June 4 at the end of his current tenure as an MP. The centre has issued a show cause notice to the MP for cancellation of the passport. If he delays his return, he would be deported for lack of valid papers,” police sources said.

The anticipatory bail plea of the MP would be rendered infructuous in the event of his arrest in the early hours of May 31 by the SIT before the court hears the matter mid-morning.

On Wednesday, an advocate representing Prajwal Revanna filed three anticipatory bail pleas on his behalf and the matter was taken up by a special court for elected representatives after adjourning to May 31 an anticipatory bail plea filed by Prajwal Revanna’s mother Bhavani Revanna in a case of kidnapping of a victim of sexual assault by the MP.

Although there were office objections to the filing of the case on behalf of the missing MP through the furnishing of a scanned copy of the vakalath. The advocate for Prajwal Revanna argued that the High Court of Karnataka had allowed the vakalath in a similar situation.

The high court had ruled that a memo of appearance in criminal proceedings containing a declaration that an advocate has been fully instructed to appear as per rule 6(2) of Criminal Rules of Practice 1968 would validate a vakalath.

The special court overruled the office objections and ordered the Special Public Prosecutor to take notice on behalf of the SIT. The SPP sought time to argue the matter and the court adjourned the matter to May 31 for hearing on the interim anticipatory bail plea.