MEA Serves Show Cause Notice to Prajwal Revanna to Cancel his Diplomatic Passport

NEW DELHI, May 24: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has served a show-cause notice to suspended JD(S) MP from Hassan in Karnataka Prajwal Revanna asking why his diplomatic passport should not be cancelled in view of the allegations of sexual abuse against him, official sources said on Friday.

The MEA sources had said on Thursday that it had started 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. It is learnt that the show-cause notice was served through email.

Prajwal, the grandson of former prime minister H.D. 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 in his Hassan constituency where he is the NDA candidate.

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.

On Wednesday, Karnataka Chief Minister 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 had 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 Mr Revanna 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.

(Manas Dasgupta)