On Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea of Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former MP Prajwal Revanna to transfer two ongoing rape trials from Bengaluru’s Special MP/MLA Court. The Bench, led by CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, refused to intervene, reinforcing that the trials will continue under the designated court despite allegations of judicial bias.
Revanna, previously convicted and sentenced to life in a separate rape case by the same court, approached the Supreme Court after the Karnataka High Court rejected his petitions seeking a transfer of the two criminal trials. The cases, registered under multiple sections of the IPC, including repeated rape, sexual harassment, assault, voyeurism, intimidation, and destruction of evidence, as well as Section 66E of the IT Act, pertain to offences committed while he was an MP. Senior Advocates Siddharth Luthra and Siddarth Dave argued that the trial judge displayed bias, citing adverse remarks made against Revanna and his lawyers.
The State, however, opposed any transfer, asserting that the Special MP/MLA Court is specially designated for offences involving legislators and Revanna’s allegations were merely attempts to delay proceedings.
The Supreme Court rejected claims of bias, stating, “These observations of the presiding officer cannot be the ground of bias. We have no reason to doubt that the officer would not be swayed by the fact that the petitioner was found guilty in the earlier case…and will confine his conclusions on the basis of evidence led in the pending trial.”
The Bench noted that harsh remarks or impatience over adjournments cannot justify transferring the case and affirmed that any grievances regarding judicial observations can be addressed through appropriate applications in the High Court. The plea for shifting the trials was consequently dismissed.
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