Janata Dal (Secular) MLC Suraj Revanna has been granted conditional bail in one of the two cases of sexual assault filed against him by male JD(S) workers. 

The order was issued by Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhatt of a special court in Bengaluru for public representatives. Suraj has been granted bail in the case filed against him on June 22, in which a male JD(S) party worker alleged that Suraj sexually assaulted him at his family’s farmhouse in Gannikada on June 16. An FIR was filed against him on June 22 and he was arrested a day later and was remanded in judicial custody.

However, he will remain in jail as he has also been arrested in another case. The FIR was registered on June 26, by the Holenarasipura Rural Police Station under sections 377 (unnatural sex), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. Two others have also been named in the FIR. According to the FIR, Suraj allegedly sexually assaulted the victim during the first COVID-19 lockdown at the Gannikada farmhouse in Holenarasipura. 

Suraj is the grandson of JD(S) Supremo HD Deve Gowda. Suraj’s brother Prajwal is in judicial custody after four women accused him of rape. Their father, Holenarasipura MLA HD Revanna has also been accused of sexual harassment by a woman who worked in his house. He has also been accused of kidnapping one of the women whom Prajwal allegedly raped. He was also arrested and spent a few days in jail on those charges. 

TNM has been continuously reporting on this case, speaking to survivors and others affected to, explore the the profound societal impact of the sexual abuse videos. Our coverage can be accessed here.