Former Member of Parliament Prajwal Revanna has been found guilty of rape. Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat of the special court for elected representatives has found Prajwal guilty of sexually assaulting a farm labourer who worked for his family and for recording the assault. This is the first judgement in one of four cases filed against him. The judge has convicted him for all charges. Order on sentence is likely to be pronounced tomorrow. LiveLaw, The News Minute and The Indian Express first reported on the conviction.
Additional City Civil And Session Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat had on April 3, framed charges against Revanna under Sections 376(2)(k) (rape by a person in a position of dominance), 376(2)(n) (repeated rape), 354(A) (sexual harassment), 354(B) (assault or use of force with intent to disrobe), 354(C) (voyeurism), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and Section 66(e) of the Information Technology Act.
The Supreme Court of India, had, in November 2024 dismissed the bail plea of ex-MP Prajwal Revanna booked for rape, sexual assault. In August, a Special Investigation Team of Karnataka which is probing four cases of sexual assault and harassment against Revanna submitted a 2,144-page charge sheet. A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma rejected the plea and observed that Revanna is a very influential person. Appearing for Revanna, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said that a charge sheet has been filed in the case and section 376 of the IPC was not there in the initial complaint.
The special court had, on April 3 had framed charges against Prajwal Revanna for sexually assaulting the farm labourer who worked for his family. The 1,625-page-long charge sheet, filed on September 14, 2024, said that the woman was sexually assaulted thrice, two times at the family’s farmhouse and once at their residence in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru.
As per prosecution, the victim worked as a maid at a farmhouse owned by the Revanna family. It is claimed that from 2021, during the COVID-19 lockdown, Revanna repeatedly raped her and filmed the assaults in different locations. Further, it is alleged that Revanna used the videos to intimidate and silence her, preventing her from complaining.
The SIT formed in this case is also investigating three cases registered against Prajwal and he is presently in judicial custody. The SIT had arrested Prajwal at the Bengaluru Airport on his arrival from Germany on May 30 last year. He was arrested in Crime No.107/2024, registered with the Holenarasipura Town Police Station.
Senior advocates Ashok Nayak and BN Jagadeesha were special public prosecutors in the case.
The complainant, the 47-year-old farm labourer, Mridula*, was working at the family farmhouse in Gannikada and also accompanied the family during their trips to Bengaluru. She had accused Prajwal of raping her when he had called her inside the room on the pretext of bringing him water at the farmhouse. He was accused of raping her a second time when she had accompanied the family to their house in Basavangudi, Bengaluru.
According to the chargesheet, the assault took place in 2021 at the Gannikada farmhouse. “Mridula was cleaning a room on the first floor when Prajwal came and asked if the room was cleaned. He then asked her to fetch some water. Mridula came back with a jug (chombu) of water when Prajwal suddenly pulled her inside his room. He then locked the door. Mridula asked him to open the door, “Baagilu tegi anna, bhaya aagutte (Open the door anna, I’m scared),” the chargesheet said. Prajwal responded with “Enu agalla” (Nothing will happen) to her cries and then raped her. The chargesheet said that he recorded the assault on his phone.
A case of kidnapping has also been filed against Prajwal’s parents, HD Revanna and Bhavani, and Prajwal’s relative, Satish Babanna, as Mridula had complained that she was taken to the farm on April 29, 2024, and kept for a few days. This coincided with the time that the videos had started circulating. On May 2, Mridula’s son filed a complaint of kidnapping against Prajwal after he came to know of the videos. At the time, Mridula was forced to record a video saying she was alright and had not been kidnapped. A couple of days later, she managed to escape from the farm where she was being held.
Prajwal has been in jail since June 2024, after complaints of sexual assault and having recorded the encounters on video emerged.
The complaints started after thousands of video clips of these alleged encounters started circulating during the general elections held last year, when Prajwal, the incumbent MP, was contesting from the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency. A Special Investigation Team was formed to look into all the allegations, and four women came forward with complaints against him.
Other cases against Revanna
There are three more cases filed against Prajwal Revanna. Of these, the first complaint was filed by Girija* and her daughter, Sunitha*. Prajwal is accused of raping Girija and forcing Sunitha to strip on a video call. In another case, Prajwal is accused of raping Priya*, a former member of the local body and JD(S) party worker. This assault is said to have taken place at Prajwal’s then official residence in Hassan, says The News Minute. A case of molestation has also been filed against Prajwal by another woman who said that he had molested her when she had approached him to seek help on a personal matter.
* Names of the victims have been changed to protect their identity.
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