Court directs C.T. Ravi to cooperate with the CID probe

The Special Court of Magistrate for criminal cases against former and present MPs and MLAs on Friday directed Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Legislative Council C. T. Ravi to cooperate with the investigation into the case registered against him being probed by the Criminal Investigation Department.

The agency, probing Mr. Ravi’s alleged derogatory remarks against Women and Child Development Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar, petitioned the court, alleging that he had refused to give his voice samples for forensic examination and had not been cooperating with the probe.

Mr. Ravi appeared before the CID on January 9, 2025, and recorded his statement in the case of assault. The same day, CID officials served him a notice to take his voice samples, but Mr. Ravi allegedly refused. His advocate on Friday argued that the notice was served on WhatsApp, and he would argue over the issue after the CID served his client an authenticated notice. The case was adjourned to January 22. 

This follows the CID acquiring the original video footage of the altercation in the Karnataka Legislative Council on December 19, recorded by the cameras deployed by the Karnataka Legislative Council. Media cameras are not allowed inside the House, and the Council itself provides the live feed. “We now have the authenticated video of the altercation in the Council that day. We need Mr. Ravi’s voice samples to match the controversial bits of the video to his voice forensically,” a CID official part of the probe said. 

Meanwhile, CID has decided to go ahead with the probe into the case without conducting a mahazar, a usual practice in criminal cases, inside the Council hall at Suvarna Soudha, Belagavi, where the alleged incident took place, after Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti reportedly denied permission. “Ideally, we should have conducted a mahazar at the scene of crime. But the Council Chairman has denied us permission. So, we will go ahead with the probe, informing the court of the reason for not doing a mahazar. Moreover, this is not a case where key evidence will emerge from the scene of crime,” a CID official said.