Prajwal was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special POCSO court in the first of four sexual assault cases against him.
Published Dec 03, 2025 | 2:10 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 03, 2025 | 2:10 PM
Prajwal Revanna
Synopsis: The Karnataka High Court rejected an application filed by former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, seeking suspension of a life sentence in a rape case registered against him. Prajwal was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special POCSO court in the first of four sexual assault cases against him.
The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday, 3 December, rejected an application filed by former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, seeking suspension of a life sentence in a rape case registered against him.
“Weighing the material on record, the gravity of the offence, and considering the effect on other pending cases against the appellant, if the appellant is released on bail, this court is of the considered opinion that this is not a fit case for granting suspension of sentence and bail,” a division bench of Justice KS Mudagal and Justice Venkatesh Naik T said.
The former JD(S) MP requested the quashing of the trial court’s verdict and setting aside of his conviction, arguing that the prosecution’s case was riddled with inconsistencies and procedural lapses.
Prajwal, grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special POCSO court in the first of four sexual assault cases against him. The charges stem from allegations of repeated rape and sexual exploitation of a domestic help at his residence during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2021.
The Bengaluru Additional City Civil and Sessions Court had, in August, sentenced Prajwal to life imprisonment for raping a domestic worker in Holenarasipura and Banashankari.
In his petition to the high court, Prajwal highlighted gaps in evidence and delays, saying the case was politically motivated. He also pointed out that the woman had attended a function in his farmhouse three years after the alleged rape.
The high court bench noted that multiple cases are filed against Revanna, accusing him of sexual abuse. “Records showed that the victim had not mustered the courage to report the incident to police, having regard to the sound political and economic background of the appellant,” the bench said.
If there is an urgency in the matter, the court remarked that it is open to the appellant to seek an early hearing, and the matter can be listed for final hearing on a priority basis.
The court posted the appeal for final hearing on 12 January 2026.
The victim had worked as a maid at a farmhouse owned by the Revanna family. It is claimed that from 2021, during the Covid-19 lockdown, Prajwal and his father, former minister and MLA HD Revanna, had sexually assaulted several women employed as maids in their house, the SIT of the Karnataka police said.
Besides rape, Prajwal has been booked for sexually assaulting several women and filming the acts. The video clips were circulated on social media and visual media. He also faces charges of destroying evidence from his mobile phone, used for recording the videos.
Prajwal has been in judicial custody since his arrest on 31 May 2024. After the videos started circulating, Prajwal left the country after casting his vote in the Lok Sabha election on 26 April 2024, but was arrested at the Bengaluru International Airport on his return.
According to the charge sheet, Prajwal blackmailed the women he had harassed for further sexual favours. In 2020, when the survivor (witness-1) was working in the first-floor hall of his house at Holenarsipura, the younger Revanna sexually harassed her when no other workers were present. He allegedly sexually harassed her over the phone as well.
The same year, Prajwal allegedly took several workers, including the woman (witness-1), to Basavanagudi in Bengaluru to clean his house. While the woman was cleaning a bedroom on the west side of the first floor, the accused locked the room and demanded an oil massage. He allegedly threatened to kill her if she did not heed his demand.
Ignoring the woman’s pleas and attempts to escape, he sexually assaulted her. He recorded the act on the mobile phone. Prajwal also threatened to jail her husband if she disclosed the incident to anyone, the charge sheet said.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Anisha Reddy.)
