Former MP Prajwal Revanna Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in Rape Case by Bengaluru Special Court

A special court in Bengaluru on Saturday sentenced former Member of Parliament and suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna to life imprisonment in a high-profile rape case. The verdict comes a day after the 34-year-old leader was convicted in one of the four rape and sexual assault cases filed against him.

The Special Court for cases involving MPs and MLAs, presided over by Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat, also imposed a ₹10 lakh fine on Revanna. The court agreed with the prosecution’s argument that the gravity of the crime warranted the maximum punishment.

Case Background

The case pertains to the rape of a 48-year-old domestic worker employed at the Revanna family’s farmhouse in Gannikada, located in Karnataka’s Holenarasipura area of Hassan district. According to the prosecution, the woman was assaulted twice in 2021—once at the farmhouse and again at a residence in Bengaluru. The acts were allegedly filmed by Revanna on his phone.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case had submitted a 1,632-page charge sheet in September 2024, naming 113 witnesses. Prosecutors presented 180 documents, along with digital evidence, a DNA report, and forensic lab findings, to support the victim’s testimony. The court accepted all key aspects of the prosecution’s case.

Courtroom Drama

During the sentencing hearing, Prajwal Revanna broke down in court, pleading for leniency. He claimed he had done nothing wrong and argued that the charges were politically motivated. “The only mistake I made in my life is growing fast in politics,” he said. He also questioned the timing of the complaints, claiming they surfaced just days before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Revanna told the court he was a BE Mechanical graduate who had always succeeded on merit. He argued that the victim had never told anyone, including her husband, about the incident until videos were leaked.

Legal Charges

Revanna was charged under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Information Technology (IT) Act, including:

• Section 376(2)(k) – Rape by a person in a position of control

• Section 376(2)(n) – Repeated rape of the same woman

• Section 354A, 354B, 354C – Sexual harassment, assault with intent to disrobe, and voyeurism

• Section 506, 201 – Criminal intimidation and destruction of evidence

• Section 66E of the IT Act – Violation of privacy

Political Fallout and Arrest

Prajwal Revanna, grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, was arrested by the SIT on May 31, 2024, upon returning to India from Germany. The cases against him gained traction after pen drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving him were circulated in Hassan just before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Revanna failed to retain the Hassan parliamentary seat, and the JD(S) subsequently suspended him from the party.

This conviction marks the first major legal blow in the multiple cases filed against him. Proceedings in the other cases are still ongoing.