Life term for ex MP Prajwal Revanna in rape case

Bengaluru: Former MP and suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna has been sentenced to life imprisonment in a 2021 rape case by a special court here on Saturday. He was convicted for raping a 48-year-old woman who was working as a house help at his family’s Gannikada farmhouse in Hassan district's Holenarasipura. As per the case, Revanna raped the woman twice -- at Hassan farm house and Bengaluru residence-- in 2021 and the act recorded by the accused on his mobile phone.

On Friday, the Special Court for MPs/MLAs found Revanna guilty in one of the four sexual abuse and rape cases registered against him. After pronouncing the quantum of punishment on Saturday, Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat imposed a total fine of Rs 10 lakh on the accused.

Earlier in the day, while the prosecution sought life sentence for Revanna, the 34 year-old sought leniency, claiming he did nothing wrong and that his only mistake was his 'fast' growth in politics.

He broke down in court as he appealed to the judge for a lesser punishment. He told the court that he is a BE Mechanical graduate, and has always passed on merit.

"...they say that I have raped multiple women, but none of the women have come out voluntarily to complain, they came six days prior to election (Lok Sabha polls last year)...the prosecution side brought them purposefully and made them give a complaint," Prajwal told the court.

Pointing out that the woman (victim) had not complained to anyone including her husband or kin about the alleged rape, he said that she comes and gives complaint when certain videos were circulated.

Stating that he will bow down to the court's conviction, Prajwal said, "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."

"The only mistake I made in my life is growing fast in politics," Prajwal, arrested in May last year upon his arrival from Germany, told the court.

Stong evidence against Revanna
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which probed the case, had filed a 1,632-page charge sheet with 113 witnesses in the case in September 2024. Revanna was booked under sections 376(2)(k) (being in a position of control or dominance over a woman, commits rape on such woman), 376 (2)(n) (repeated rape on the same woman), 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 354C (voyeurism), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 201 (disappearance of evidence) of the IPC, and Section 66E (violation of privacy) of the IT Act.

Special Public Prosecutor Ashok Nayak and Additional SPP B N Jagadeesha, following Prajwal Revanna's conviction on Friday, had said that the court had accepted the prosecution's case and convicted him on all counts.

Noting that the prosecution examined 26 witnesses and marked 180 documents and the main evidence is of the victim, Nayak said the prosecution relied not only on the oral evidence, but also the digital and technical evidence, DNA report and Forensic Sciences Laboratory report.

"The clothes that were worn by the victim during the rape were also identified, and the Investigation Officer (IO) was successful in seizing them even after three to four years. Also, digital evidence played a role as the accused himself had recorded the video."

Four separate cases have been registered against Revanna, who is facing charges of rape and sexual harassment, and the SIT was tasked with probing cases.

Prajwal Revanna is the grandson of former Prime Minister and JD (S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda.

Pen drive exposed crime
The cases came to light after pen drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving Revanna were reportedly circulated in Hassan, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls there on April 26, 2024.

Revanna was arrested by the SIT on May 31 last year, upon his arrival at Bengaluru Airport from Germany in connection with a case registered at the Holenarasipura Town Police Station.

Revanna had failed in his bid to retain the Hassan parliamentary constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. JD(S) suspended him from the party following the cases filed against him.