A Special Court for MPs and MLAs on Saturday sentenced former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna to life imprisonment in connection with a 2021 rape case. The 34-year-old was also directed to pay a total fine of ₹10 lakh. Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat delivered the sentencing a day after convicting Revanna under multiple sections of the IPC and IT Act.
The case pertains to the rape of a 48-year-old domestic worker at Revanna’s family-owned farmhouse in Gannikada, Holenarasipura (Hassan district), and later at his Bengaluru residence. The incidents occurred in 2021 and were allegedly recorded by the accused on his mobile phone.
Court Cites Digital and Forensic Evidence; Revanna Breaks Down During Hearing
During the hearing, the prosecution, led by Special Public Prosecutor Ashok Nayak and Additional SPP B N Jagadeesha, argued for the maximum sentence. The court accepted their submission, citing oral, digital, technical, and forensic evidence, including a DNA report and FSL findings.
Clothes worn by the victim during the incidents were recovered and presented as evidence. The SIT had filed a detailed 1,632-page charge sheet in September 2024, backed by 113 witnesses.
Revanna, arrested on May 31 last year after arriving from Germany, pleaded for leniency during the sentencing.
“The only mistake I made in my life is growing fast in politics,” he told the court, breaking down as he spoke. “I have a family. I have not seen my mother and father for six months now… please give me a less sentence is what I request the court,” Revanna said.
He claimed the complaints were politically timed. “They say that I have raped multiple women, but none of the women have come out voluntarily to complain… the prosecution side brought them purposefully and made them give a complaint,” he said. He also pointed out that the complainant did not initially report the alleged rape, including to her husband or family, and only filed the case after video clips began circulating.
Revanna was convicted under IPC Sections 376(2)(k), 376(2)(n), 354A, 354B, 354C, 506, and 201, as well as Section 66E of the IT Act.
Four separate cases have been filed against Prajwal Revanna related to sexual harassment and rape. The cases surfaced after pen drives containing explicit video content were allegedly circulated in Hassan ahead of the April 26, 2024 Lok Sabha election. Revanna, who is the grandson of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, was suspended by the JD(S) following the allegations and failed to retain the Hassan seat in the general election.
