Former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, grandson of ex-Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, was convicted of raping his domestic help by a special court for MPs/MLAs in Bengaluru on Friday. The court has scheduled the announcement of his sentence for Saturday.
The victim, who worked as a house help at Revanna’s family farmhouse, accused him of repeated sexual assault since 2021, alleging that he threatened to leak videos of the abuse to silence her.
After concluding hearings on July 18, the court had deferred its verdict on July 30, seeking additional clarifications. During the trial, the court recorded the statements of Revanna and 26 other witnesses, before framing charges under multiple sections of the IPC, including rape, voyeurism, criminal intimidation, and unauthorized sharing of private content.
The 34-year-old politician is also the prime accused in three other cases filed in 2024, following the leak of over 2,000 obscene video clips on social media that allegedly showed sexual exploitation of numerous women.
Revanna was arrested on May 31, 2024, amid mounting public outrage. His political career took a blow when he lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Karnataka’s Hassan constituency, and was subsequently suspended from the JD(S) by the party’s leadership in light of the serious allegations.
The case has triggered a national debate on sexual abuse, misuse of power, and the urgent need for accountability among public representatives.