MEA Sends Email Showcause to Prajwal Revanna; Asks Why Diplomatic Passport Shouldn't Be Cancelled

An email show-cause notice was sent by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to JD(S) suspended MP Prajwal Revanna, asking why his diplomatic passport should not be cancelled as requested by the Karnataka government in the sexual assault case filed against him. Prajwal is evading arrest and is believed to be hiding in Germany.

New Delhi:Amid rising chorus for the arrest of sexual assault accused JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has purportedly served a show-cause notice on him, asking him to explain why his diplomatic passport should not be cancelled in the wake of the sexual abuses cases filed against him in Karnataka.

The showcause notice has been served on Prajwal Revanna via email as he has been allegedly evading arrest and is suspected to have been hiding in Germany. The MEA's action comes a day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urged for cancellation of Prajwal's diplomatic passport for the second time while the latter's grandfather and former prime minister Deve Gowda had also warned and asked his grandson to return to India and face legal process here.

Official sources on Thursday had said the MEA is processing the Karnataka government's request to cancel Prajwal's diplomatic passport. Currently, he is believed to be in Germany. The show-cause notice has been served on Prajwal as part of the process initiated to cancel his passport, the people cited above said. It is learnt that the show-cause notice was served through email.

Prajwal, the grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, is at the centre of a mass sexual abuse case and the Hassan MP left India on April 27, a day after voting for the Lok Sabha elections took place in his constituency. It is learnt that the MEA is undertaking the process to cancel Prajwal's diplomatic passport under the provisions of the Passports Act of 1967 as well as related regulations.

If the passport is cancelled, then Prajwal's stay abroad will be illegal and he may face legal action by concerned authorities in the country he is staying, a person familiar with the matter said. On Wednesday, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah wrote a second letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to take "prompt and necessary" actions to cancel Prajwal's diplomatic passport.

The chief minister sent a similar letter to the prime minister on May 1. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Karnataka government to probe the sexual abuse charges against Prajwal wrote the MEA to cancel his diplomatic passport after an arrest warrant was issued against him by a local court.

A 'Blue Corner Notice' seeking information on Revanna's whereabouts has already been issued by the Interpol following a request by the SIT. Earlier this month, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Prajwal travelled to Germany on a diplomatic passport and he did not seek political clearance for the trip. "No political clearance was either sought from or issued by MEA in respect of the travel of the said MP to Germany," Jaiswal had said. (with agency inputs)

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