Privileges panel closes C T Ravi case after home dept apology

Bengaluru: The Privileges Committee of the Legislative Council has closed its proceedings in the 2024 case involving BJP lawmaker C T Ravi after the home department tendered an apology.The committee, headed by Congress MLC Manjunath Bhandary, submitted its report to the Legislative Council on August 21. The report was made public by the Council secretariat recently.Hindu voters are being struck off rolls: BJP MLC C T RaviIn December 2024, the winter session of the legislature witnessed tensions after Ravi allegedly used an unparliamentary word against then minister Laxmi Hebbalkar. The minister’s supporters confronted Ravi outside the House. In response, Ravi and other BJP legislators staged a protest on the steps of the main entrance at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha.Ravi subsequently lodged a complaint with the Privileges Committee, alleging that the police breached his privilege by driving him around various parts of Belagavi throughout the night. Appearing before the committee on October 13, 2025, the then additional chief secretary to the home department Tushar Giri Nath said: “The police department has its own stature in the state. The police did not commit a mistake by taking political sides. I apologize if our officials committed a mistake as per the rules. A circular will be issued advising and directing the DGP that a meeting should be convened before every legislature session to ensure that no trouble is caused to any legislator.”IPS officer Bheemashankar S Guled, then Superintendent of Police in Belagavi, told the committee that when the police approached a local judge to seek permission in the case, they were asked to produce Ravi before an open court and asked him to be kept in their custory until then for security reasons. They were being chased by vehicles, including one that bore the letters ‘MLC’. As vehicles continued to follow them, the police drove Ravi around until 5.30 am.There will be Hindu genocide if our population declines to 15%: BJP’s CT RaviGuled told the committee that protecting the legislator was their responsibility and that the police had taken measures within the district to ensure his safety. “If there was any lapse on our part in the entire episode, we seek forgiveness,” Guled stated.

Source: Deccan Herald