The Karnataka High Court on Monday granted bail to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Advocate G Devaraje Gowda in a case of alleged rape and molestation.
Justice MG Uma passed the order on a plea challenging the trial court order denying bail to Gowda.
Gowda had been initially booked on sexual assault charges in a First Information Report (FIR) registered at the Holenarsipur police station in Hassan district on a woman’s complaint alleging that he had molested her on the pretext of helping her sell her property.
However, a few days later, the woman had again approached the police and claimed that Gowda had raped her. Gowda was then arrested by the Police in May.
However, before the complaint was filed against him, Gowda had also filed a complaint against three persons alleging that he had been honey-trapped.
On June 5, the trial court held that Gowda was not entitled to bail pending investigation. Aggrieved by the order, Gowda approached the High Court for relief.
Notably, Gowda had last year claimed that he was in possession of videos depicting suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Member of Parliament (MP) Prajwal Revanna sexually abusing multiple women. He had also claimed to have alerted the BJP leadership regarding it.
Gowda had contested the 2023 Assembly elections in Karnataka from Holenarsipur. However, he had lost to former state minister and Janata Dal (Secular) MLA HD Revanna, Prajwal Revanna’s father.