Revanna had left for Germany after the sex scandal emerged and was arrested in May last year.
- The JD(S) leader had left for Germany after the sex scandal emerged and was arrested in May last year
- Revanna is the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and nephew of Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy
- The 34-year-old, who was the MP from the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, lost from there last year
Former Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in Bengaluru for raping his house help . Revanna, who is the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and nephew of Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, had also been charged with circulating videos of the sexual assault on the 48-year-old woman.
The woman, who worked as a domestic help at the Revanna family's farmhouse in Hassan district's Holenarasipura, had alleged that she was raped repeatedly by Prajwal Revanna since 2021. He had recorded the act and threatened to release the videos if she told anyone about what he had done.
The special court for MPs/MLAs in Bengaluru had framed charges against Revanna, 34, under various sections, including rape, voyeurism, criminal intimidation, and unlawful circulation of intimate images. He had been convicted by judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat on Friday and the sentence was pronounced on Saturday.
Appearing for the survivor, Special Public Prosecutor BN Jagadish told the court she was repeatedly raped and blackmailed and even considered dying by suicide after seeing the video of her being sexually assaulted.
"The sexual assault video reflects Prajwal's sadistic mindset. He was a sitting MP, fully aware of the law, yet committed such acts. He is a habitual offender who recorded videos of multiple women. The maximum punishment must be imposed," Mr Jagadish was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.
"A strong message must be sent that wealth and political power do not guarantee leniency. Courts must counter the public perception that influential people get away with lighter sentences while ordinary citizens face the full brunt of the law," he stressed.
In his final statement before the sentencing, Prajwal Revanna broke down and said, "Why did this case come out during the elections? When I was an MP, no complaints were lodged against me. They now say I committed multiple sexual assaults. Why didn't anyone come forward then? Why did the case surface only during the election?"
The court sentenced him to life imprisonment under two sections of the Indian Penal Code, terms of between two and seven years under five other sections, and a term of three years under a section of the IT Act for circulating the videos. It said the survivor should be given compensation of Rs 11 lakh.
Scandal
The sex scandal involving Revanna, who was the MP from Hassan Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, had emerged a day after the seat - where he was a candidate - went to the polls on April 26 last year.
Videos began doing the rounds showing multiple women being sexually assaulted. Revanna could also be seen sexually abusing women in some of them.
Revanna, who left for Germany soon after the videos emerged, was later suspended by the JD(S), which contested the Lok Sabha polls in an alliance with the BJP.
He lost the elections and was arrested in May last year after he returned from Germany.
