Exactly a month after absconding to Germany, suspended Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna – who has been accused of raping, sexually harassing, and filming multiple women in Karnataka's Hassan – said in a video on Monday, 27 May, that he would return to the country and appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case on Friday, 31 May.
"I apologise to my parents... I was depressed. On Friday, 31 May, at 10 am I will appear before the SIT and provide all information related to the investigation. I will cooperate with the SIT. I have faith in the judiciary," he said in a self-shot video.
Last week, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it was 'processing a request' to cancel the MP's diplomatic passport. "The request is under process," an MEA official told The Quint on the condition of anonymity.
The request to cancel Prajwal's diplomatic passport was made by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi dated 22 May, had stated:
"I urge you to kindly consider this matter with utmost seriousness and take prompt and necessary actions to cancel the diplomatic passport of Mr Prajwal Revanna, under Section 10(3)(h) of the Passport Act, 1967, or under any other relevant law and secure his return to the country."
This was the Karnataka government's second such letter to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government; the first one was sent on 1 May. The SIT had also requested the MEA to cancel Prajwal's diplomatic passport.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, however, said on 24 May that the MEA received the request from the Karnataka government only on 21 May – and that they "acted on it immediately."
Prajwal's grandfather and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, meanwhile, issued a 'stern warning' to the BJP-JD(S)'s Hassan MP candidate, instructing him to return to India at the earliest.
"It is not a request I am making. It is a stern warning that I am issuing. Don't test my patience. Return from wherever you are and surrender to the police," Gowda said on 23 May.
But why was there an alleged delay in facilitating his return despite the seriousness of the allegations? And more importantly, has this delay impacted the case?
The Move To Cancel Diplomatic Passport
In a matter of hours after the polling in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on 26 April, Prajwal Revanna fled to Germany on his diplomatic passport.
"When the elections were held on 26 April, there was no case against me and no SIT was formed. My foreign trip was pre-planned. I got to know about the allegations when I was on my trip... Rahul Gandhi and many other Congress leaders started talking about it and a political conspiracy was hatched against me..." Prajwal alleged in the video.
However, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on 2 May that "no political clearance was either sought from or issued by the MEA" with respect to Prajwal's travel to Germany.
Diplomatic passports are issued to specific people of power within the Indian government. For people in the government not entitled to them, a visa note is issued.
"Obviously, no visa note was issued either. No visa is required for diplomatic passport holders to travel to Germany. The Ministry has not issued visa note for any other country," Jaiswal added.
He then said the MEA couldn't cancel Prajwal's diplomatic passport – as per the Karnataka government's demand on 1 May – without a court order.
The Passports Act, 1967, states that the passport authority can revoke or impound the passport of a person:
if the holder is in wrongful possession of the passport
if the holder has been convicted by a court in India for any offence and is sentenced to not less than two years
if criminal proceedings against the holder are pending before a court in India
if a warrant for the arrest of the holder has been issued by a court
Following an arrest warrant issued by a court earlier this month, Interpol issued a blue-corner notice against Prajwal. A blue-corner notice is essentially issued to "collect additional information about a person's identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation." This is different from a red-corner notice, which involves locating and arresting a fugitive.
If and when the diplomatic passport is cancelled, the holder will be considered illegal in whichever country they are in. They would have to return to the country – and to do so, they would have to approach the nearest embassy or consulate to get a travel document.
The Quint reached out to the MEA but it refused to comment.
'Why Was There a Delay?'
"The impact of this delay on the ground is very obvious. It is reinforcing the idea that if you're a man in a position of power and authority, the system will always work in your favour. There have been three letters – two from the [Karnataka] CM and one from the SIT. And the fact that the Centre did not choose to do anything until now speaks volumes," opined Madhu Bhushan, an independent women's rights activist based in Karnataka.
"Are they [the BJP] interested in speaking on behalf of the women as they claim to be doing – or are they more interested in protecting their [alliance] partner," she asked.
The concern is also about the women who have been subjected to sexual violence, she said. "As it is there is a fear of coming out. If they see that the person who has been accused of these crimes have not even been apprehended weeks after the incidents have come out, what does it do to the morale of the women? With what kind of confidence will they have to speak up?"
So far, there have been three FIRs against Prajwal, based on complaints by survivors of sexual assault. His father HD Revanna, meanwhile, was granted bail 10 days after he was arrested for 'kidnapping' a woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by Prajwal.
"This further solidifies the atmosphere of fear within which the women are operating," Bhushan said.
"Women are operating out of fear because of the largeness of his persona. This person [Prajwal] has exercised his feudal power, political power, and his gender power all these years. The fear is not only from the system, but the fear is also from their own personal systems, whether it's the family or the community. From all accounts that we've heard, women are not even allowed to come out and speak by their families, because of the question of honour. Women have gone underground; they have left their villages."
She, however, pointed out that Prajwal's return to the country will not be the end of the road for him.
"It's only the beginning of the road for him. Justice is a long haul, even in a case like this which is so public. We've seen what happened with Bilkis Bano, she had to fight for 20 years. And even then, what happened? We are under no illusion that this would be a big win."
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