HC Rejects Revanna’s Plea Seeking Transfer of Cases from MP/MLA Court
The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday refused to transfer the criminal cases against former Hasan MP Prajwal Revanna to another court, dismissing his claims of bias against the presiding officer of the special MP/MLA court. Revanna, previously convicted of rape and sentenced to life imprisonment, had filed petitions under Section 408 of the CrPC seeking to move two cases—one involving repeated rape, sexual harassment, voyeurism, criminal intimidation, and IT Act violations, and another covering similar offences—to a different court.
Justice M.I. Arun observed that while some remarks in the trial court’s judgments may have sounded harsh, they did not amount to bias. The court noted that Revanna had attempted to delay proceedings, which had been appropriately addressed by the trial court. “If mere dissatisfaction with the trial or disagreement with judicial observations were grounds for transfer, nearly all criminal cases could be shifted,” the bench stated.
Revanna’s counsel argued that the trial had not been fair and that the principal city civil and sessions judge had not properly considered the merits of the transfer plea. The defense also cited a “reasonable apprehension” of bias and highlighted that the trial court relied on evidence from other cases.
The state countered, stating there was no evidence of bias and that the petitioner’s discomposure followed his conviction. The High Court upheld the MP/MLA court’s jurisdiction, emphasizing it was a designated forum for cases involving elected representatives. The writ petitions sought a stay of further proceedings pending the outcome of the transfer plea.
