A special court in Karnataka has sentenced former MP and JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna to life imprisonment in a rape case. The verdict was delivered by Special Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhatt, a day after Revanna was found guilty. He faces four separate rape cases, all involving a 48-year-old woman who worked as a domestic help at his family’s Gannikada farmhouse in Hassan district.
Revanna, the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, was convicted of raping the woman twice—once at the Hassan farmhouse in 2021 and again at his Bengaluru residence. He allegedly recorded the acts on his phone and threatened to leak the videos if she spoke out.
According to Special Public Prosecutor Ashok Nayak, the prosecution presented 26 witnesses and submitted 180 documents. The victim’s testimony was considered key and highly credible. The SIT, which investigated the case, filed a 1,632-page chargesheet in September 2024 with statements from 113 witnesses.
The matter came to light when pen drives containing alleged obscene videos linked to Revanna surfaced in Hassan just before the April 26, 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He was arrested on May 31 last year at Bengaluru Airport upon arrival from Germany. Following the charges, the JD(S) suspended him from the party. Revanna lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Hassan constituency.
