Prajwal Revanna, former Member of Parliament and suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in Bengaluru in connection with a rape case involving a domestic worker. The verdict was delivered on Saturday by Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat, who presides over the court designated for trying cases involving MPs and MLAs. This case marks the first conviction among four separate sexual assault cases filed against the 34-year-old politician, who is the grandson of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.
The case stems from allegations made by a 48-year-old house help who worked at the Revanna family’s farmhouse in Holenarasipura in Hassan district. She testified that Revanna raped her twice in 2021—once at the farmhouse and later at a residence in Bengaluru. She also alleged that the assaults were recorded by Revanna on his mobile phone. The survivor filed a complaint after explicit videos allegedly involving Revanna began circulating in Hassan just ahead of the April 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
During the sentencing hearing, the prosecution urged the court to impose a life term, citing the serious nature of the crime and the weight of the evidence. Revanna, however, pleaded for a lighter sentence, claiming that he had done nothing wrong and that the charges were politically motivated. He broke down in court, saying that his rapid rise in politics had made him a target. He insisted that none of the women had voluntarily filed complaints, and suggested the cases were orchestrated for political reasons.
Despite Revanna’s plea, the court found him guilty on all counts. The prosecution, led by Special Public Prosecutor Ashok Nayak and Additional SPP B N Jagadeesha, presented a 1,632-page charge sheet backed by 113 witnesses. The case relied heavily on digital and forensic evidence, including DNA reports, recovered videos, and the clothing worn by the victim during the assault, which was seized years later during the investigation.
The charges against Revanna included multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code related to rape, repeated rape, sexual harassment, and criminal intimidation, as well as provisions under the IT Act for violation of privacy. The court also imposed a monetary fine in addition to the life sentence.
Revanna was arrested by the Special Investigation Team on May 31, 2024, upon his arrival in Bengaluru from Germany. Following the filing of these cases, the JD(S) suspended him from the party. He failed to retain his Hassan parliamentary seat in the 2024 elections. Three more cases related to sexual assault and harassment are still under investigation.
