Prajwal Revanna convicted of rape; quantum of sentence expected to be announced today
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Prajwal Revanna convicted of rape; quantum of sentence expected to be announced today
Prajwal Revanna, former Janata Dal (Secular) MP for Hassan and grandson of former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda, has been convicted of rape. The quantum of sentence is likely to be announced on Saturday. The victim in this case is a former help at the family’s farmhouse at Gannikada, Hassan, and was raped twice in 2021, and Prajwal had recorded the act on his mobile. The trial in the case has been completed and the accused convicted in just over an year since the FIR was filed. This is the first of the four rape and sexual harassment cases against PraJwal that has completed trial. While the trial in another rape case, involving a local politician, is ongoing, trials in two other cases are yet to commence.
This is the first of the four rape and sexual harassment cases against Prajwal that has completed trial. While the trial in another rape case, involving a local politician, is ongoing, trials in two other cases are yet to commence. The victim in this case is a former help at the family’s farmhouse at Gannikada, Hassan, and was raped twice in 2021, and Prajwal had recorded the act on his mobile.
Notably, the trial in the case has been completed and the accused convicted in just over an year since the FIR was filed in the case.
Prajwal was present in the court when the judgment was read out by the judge, Santosh Gajanan Bhat.
‘Lesson’ for others
Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Ashok Nayak said they were happy that they could get justice to the victim and pointed out that the case, speedy trial, and conviction was like a “lesson” and thanked the Special Investigation Team (SIT) chief B. K. Singh and other officers for it.
Another SPP B.N. Jagadeesha said the court which began the trial in the case on May 2, 2025 held daily hearings as per the guidelines by the Supreme Court in cases against MLAs and MPs.
He pointed out that the accused changed lawyers midway, approached the High Court twice, which he termed as “delay tactics”, but said they did not work and the trial was completed on July 18 and order issued on Friday.
Of the four cases, this case had the strongest evidence. The victim, 48, was raped once in the family’s residence in Hassan and again in the family’s home in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru, in 2021. Prajwal recorded the act on his mobile in the first instance. In the video the victim is seen pleading with him to spare her.
Forensic report
Forensic reports indicated that the man in the video is Prajwal. The victim had kept her saris in a wardrobe where she was working and DNA analysis found the accused Prajwal’s DNA on one of them. These, apart from the victim’s testimony, formed key evidence in the trial. The SIT had filed a 1,632-page chargesheet with 118 witnesses in the case in September, 2024.
The victim was also allegedly abducted at the behest of Prajwal’s parents, former Minister H. D. Revanna and Bhavani Revanna, to prevent her from testifying and was rescued from a farmhouse at K. R. Nagar.
The SIT has also filed a chargesheet against them for abduction and the trial in that case is yet to begin.
Hundreds of explicit videos of many women allegedly recorded by Prajwal were leaked in Hassan in the last week of April, 2024, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe, headed by Mr. Singh, Additional Director General of Police, Criminal Investigation Department, led to four cases against Prajwal — three rape cases and one sexual harassment case.