In a major development, a special court for elected representatives in Bengaluru on Friday convicted former MP and expelled JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna in a rape case involving a domestic worker. Revanna, who is the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, was found guilty in one of the four rape cases registered against him.
The court is scheduled to announce the quantum of punishment on Saturday.
The case pertains to the rape of a domestic help at a farmhouse in Holenarasipura, located in Hassan district. The FIR had been filed at the Holenarasipura Rural Police Station.
Revanna broke down in court after the verdict was delivered.
The case came to public attention in April 2024, when a series of obscene videos allegedly featuring Revanna and several women surfaced on social media, just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Following the leak, multiple criminal cases were registered, and Revanna became the prime accused in four separate cases involving allegations of rape, sexual harassment, stalking, and criminal intimidation.
In May 2024, Revanna was arrested by the CID’s Special Investigation Team upon arrival at Bengaluru Airport from Germany, where he had stayed for over a month while evading investigation. He later lost the Lok Sabha election from Hassan by a margin of over 40,000 votes.
In November 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal against a Karnataka High Court order that denied him bail. A bench led by Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma refused to entertain his arguments, stating that there were multiple serious complaints pending against him.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Karnataka Police is still investigating additional charges involving sexual abuse, unlawful recording, and circulation of private images. In June 2024, a fourth FIR was registered against him under IPC sections dealing with sexual harassment, stalking, and criminal intimidation.
Revanna’s conviction marks a significant turning point in a case that has seen widespread outrage and political ramifications in Karnataka.