Karnataka High Court grants partial relief to H D Revanna, sets aside offence under IPC Sec 344

Bengaluru: In a partial relief to former minister and JD (S) leader H D Revanna, the Karnataka high court has set aside the offence under IPC section 354 (outraging the woman’s modesty) in a complaint filed by his former house maid.

Justice M I Arun passed this order while upholding charge against Revanna under IPC Section 354A (sexual harassment) and directed the trial court to examine if this charge can be invoked despite the lapse of limitation period as prescribed under CrPC Section 468.

Revanna had moved the high court challenging the FIR registered against him. During the pendency of his petition, the police had filed the charge sheet and the trial court had taken cognisance of the offences pressed against him. During the hearing, the advocate for Revanna relied upon CrPC section 468 which bars a court from taking cognizance of an offence and the specific time for an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding one year but not exceeding three years.

After examining the complaint and the charge sheet filed by the police, the court noted that the allegations made in the complaint attract the provision of IPC Section 354A of IPC and not Section 354. Since Section 354A is punishable with maximum three years and the charge is hit by limitation as prescribed under CrPC Section 468, the court remanded the matter back to the trial court to consider whether it is a fit case to condone the delay and pass appropriate orders in respect of the offence under IPC Section 354A.