On Friday, September 1, Karnataka High Court ruled that Prajwal Revanna was ineligible to serve as a Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) for the Hassan constituency due to inconsistencies in his affidavit for the 2019 general election. He is the grandson of Janata Dal-Secular supremo and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda.
He was the sole MP for the party and won the Hassan district in the last Lok Sabha elections. The judgment was pronounced by a single bench judge of K Natrajan.
The two petitions submitted by G Devarajegowda, a voter from the constituency, and A Manju, the Bharatiya Janta Party candidate who was defeated in the 2019 general elections were partially allowed in the judge’s decision. He also ordered the Election Commission of India to take action against the Parliamentarian for violating the Conduct of Election Process Rules.
A Manju, who ran against Prajwal Revanna in the Lok Sabha election on a BJP ticket and lost, later joined the JD(S) and presently serves as an MLA. He appeared before the court and submitted that Prajwal Revanna’s seat should be vacated because the Election Commission was given incorrect information and he should be announced as the MP in his place.
The latter reportedly engaged in election fraud and failed to disclose his assets to the Election Commission, according to the petitioners.
Justice K Natrajan stated, “Both the election petitions filed by the petitioners are allowed in part. The election of the returned candidate, respondent No. 1 namely Prajwal Revanna alias Prajwal R, Member of the Parliament, Constituency 16, Hassan (General) having been declared as returned candidate dated 23.5.2019 is hereby declared as null and void.
The High Court further ordered the Election Commission to take action against Suraj Revanna (MLC) and H D Revanna (MLA), his brother and father for their participation in electoral fraud.
The court added, “H D Revanna and Suraj Revanna are named in the complaint under Representation of People’s Act for having committed corrupt practice at the time of election and also A Manju, who is also involved in corrupt practice. Election Commission to issue notice and comply with Conduct of Election Process Rules.”
The High Court, however, denied the petitioner’s request to proclaim A Manju victorious candidate since he was “involved in corrupt practices.” It remarked, “The prayer of the petitioners in both the cases to declare A Manju as the returned candidate is rejected in view of the findings that he himself is involved in corrupt practices.”
The petitions had provided numerous incidents of errors as well as his failure to declare his holdings. The Chennambika Conventional Hall had a value of at least Rs 5 crore but Prajwal Revanna reduced it to just Rs 14 lakh.
H D Revanna responded to the development and mentioned that he has not yet received information about the court’s verdict but noted that it is everyone’s duty to respect the court’s decision and abide by the law.
