Ex-MP Prajwal Revanna sentenced to life imprisonment in rape case

Former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna

Expelled JD(S) leader and former Lok Sabha MP Prajwal Revanna was on Saturday sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in Bengaluru in connection with a rape case of a domestic worker at a farmhouse in Holenarasipura in Hassan district.

A fine of Rs 10 lakh has also been imposed on him. Moreover, the court has ordered that the victim be given a compensation of Rs 7 lakh, according to ANI.

Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat of the special court for MPs and MLAs on Friday found 34-year-old Prajwal guilty in one of the four sexual assault and rape cases registered against him.

The case centers on a 48-year-old domestic worker at the family’s Gannikada farmhouse in Holenarasipura, Hassan. She was allegedly sexually assaulted twice in 2021 -- once at the farmhouse and again at Bengaluru home -- with the accused allegedly recording the incidents on his mobile phone.

Earlier in the day, while the prosecution pressed for a life sentence, Revanna pleaded for leniency, insisting he had done nothing wrong and that his only fault was rising too quickly in politics. He broke down in court as he urged the judge for a lighter sentence.

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, according to PTI.

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.

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.