In a major relief for JD(S) leader and former minister H.D. Revanna, a special court in Bengaluru has discharged him from the allegation of sexually harassing his 47-year-old former maid when she was working at his house in Hassan during 2020.
The Special Court of Magistrate for criminal cases against former and present MPs and MLAs declined to take cognisance of the offence under Section 354A (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against him by stating that both the complainant and the prosecution had failed to provide reasonable explanation for the court to take cognisance of the alleged offence by condoning the delay, under Section 473 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), of over four years in lodging the complaint.
K.N. Shivakumar, judge of the special court, in his December 29 verdict, declined to accept the claim of the prosecution that the complainant woman took over four years to lodge the complaint due to fear of political power of Mr. Revanna.
The Court pointed out that she had stated in her complaint that after she had left her job at Mr. Revanna’s residence, a house granted to her under a housing scheme of the government was demolished, and that had she had lodged a complaint against Mr. Revanna on demolition of her house with the Deputy Commissioner and the district police, Hassan.
