JDS state president HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday reiterated that would stand in support of his brother HD Revanna, who has been arrested on charges of kidnapping but he insisted that Prajwal Revanna will have to face the full might of the law. HD Revanna the first member of the Deve Gowda family to be arrested and lodged in jail in a criminal case, was in tears as he stepped out of the courtroom.

The former chief minister reacted to deputy chief minister DK Shivkumar and said he is the king of blackmailers. He said the Congress state president is trying to exploit the situation for personal gain. He accused the chief minister Siddaramaiah and home minister G Parameswara of neglecting their duty and said they were trying to safeguard the survivors of the sex scandal allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna.

Kumaraswamy said instead of getting justice for women, the Congress government is protecting miscreants who distributed the pen drives. The controversy surrounding the alleged sex video case which involved Janata Dal (Secular) leaders Prajwal Revanna and his father HD Revanna escalated after the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government ruled out a CBI investigation into the sex scandal.

Earlier JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy had expressed doubts over how the investigation was being carried out and demanded that the case, which is currently being investigated by the state government-constituted SIT should be handed over to the CBI.

HD Revanna had been arrested earlier over a kidnapping allegation in the sex scandal case and was sent to judicial custody till May 14. His bail petition before a sessions court has been posted for Thursday. Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said 3 arrests have been made in this case so far which includes JD(S) MLA HD Revanna and his aide Satish Babanna. But, the minister declined to reveal the name of the 3rd accused as it would affect the ongoing investigation.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan visited the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday and bowed before the idol of Ram Lalla.  The Kerala Governor took to X and posted a video in which Khan is seen bowing before the idol amid chants of Jai Shree Ram in the background.

Speaking to the media after his Ram Temple visit, the Kerala Governor said he came to Ayodhya twice in January. The feeling at that time was the same as it is today. He said he had come to Ayodhya many times. It is not just a matter of happiness for him, but instead it is a matter of pride, coming to Ayodhya and worshipping Shriram.

Khan said he is a neighbour from Bahraich, so he kept visiting Ayodhya. The Ram temple was opened to the public after Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the consecration ceremony of the idol on January 22 in a grand ceremony which was attended by over 10,000 people, including top celebrities and sportspersons. Last year in January, Arif Mohammed Khan attended an event where he said Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a reformer-educationalist and the founder of the Aligarh Muslim University, once urged the people to call him a Hindu.

The Kerala Governor said he had a serious complaint against Arya Samaj members that why don’t they call him a Hindu? He said that he did not consider Hindu as a religious term but Hindu is a geographical term at an event organised by Kerala Hindus of North America (KHNA) in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Governor quoted Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and said anyone who is born in India, anyone who lives on the food which is produced in India, anyone who drinks water from the rivers of India is entitled to call himself a Hindu and so you must call me a Hindu.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal has entered the contest for the post of President, Supreme Court Bar Association by filing his nomination for the elections scheduled on May 16. He will contest against Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai, who was Vice-President, SCBA for 2021-22 and 2022-2023.

Sibal returns to the SCBA electoral arena after over 20 years since he held the president’s post last. Sibal had held the post thrice between 1995 and 2002. Kapil Sibal, who served as the Additional Solicitor General of India during 1989–90, joined the bar in 1972 and was designated a Senior Advocate in 1983.

Sibal became an MP for the Congress from Chandni Chowk in Delhi in 2004 and entered the Manmohan Singh Cabinet and continued to serve in both UPA governments.

Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai has over 25 years of standing at the Bar in the Supreme Court of India, various High Courts, Commissions, Regulatory Bodies and Tribunals. He has litigation experience across a wide spectrum of civil, criminal, revenue and constitutional issues. During his two terms as Vice-President, SCBA, Rai founded various sub-committees of the Supreme Court Bar Association, including Grievance Committee, E-Committee, Health Committee, Bar Coordination Committee, Culture Committee and State Sub-Committee.

Senior Advocate Rai launched several schemes in the interest of the Bar including discounted travel scheme, affordable housing scheme, free medical facilities, academic-professional excellence and training programmes and free FastTag scheme for members of the Bar.

Incumbent SCBA President Senior Advocate Adish Aggarwala is standing for re-election. Apart from Sibal, Rai and Aggarwala, Senior Advocate Priya Hingorani and Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave are also in the fray.

The SCBA elections will be held on May 16 from 10 am to 5 pm. Voters will choose the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The last date for filing nomination is May 9. As per an SCBA circular, a draft of the list of candidates will be displayed on the notice board and on SCBA’s website on May 10.

The final list of nominations will be displayed on the SCBA notice board and its website on May 12. Following this, a debate will be held in the Supreme Court lawns between the candidates for the posts of President and Hony Secretary. Votes will be counted on May 18, Saturday.