A Bengaluru court is expected to pronounce shortly the quantum of punishment in a rape case in which former MP and suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna has been convicted.
Special court for MPs/MLAs Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat will pronounce the sentence a day after he convicted the 34-year-old in one of the four sexual abuse and rape cases registered against him.
This case pertains to the sexual assault of a 48-year-old woman who worked as a helper at the Gannikada farmhouse of Prajwal’s family in Hassan district's Holenarasipura.
The woman was allegedly raped twice—at Hassan farmhouse and Bengaluru residence—in 2021, and the act was recorded by the accused on his mobile phone.
Earlier in the day, Prajwal broke down in court as he appealed to the judge for a lesser punishment.
"...they say that I have raped multiple women, but none of the women have come out voluntarily to complain, they came six days prior to election (Lok Sabha polls last year)...the prosecution side brought them purposefully and made them give a complaint," he said.
The former MP claimed that the victim woman had not complained to anyone, including her husband or kin, about the alleged rape until certain videos were circulated.
"I have a family, I have not seen my mother and father for six months now.....please give me a less sentence is what I request the court,” he pleaded with the court. "The only mistake I made in my life was growing fast in politics.”
The prosecution, meanwhile, had sought life imprisonment for Prajwal during the hearing.
The trial in the case concluded on July 18, and orders were reserved for July 30. However, the judge adjourned the verdict to August 1, seeking clarification on mobile location data and other technical evidence.
Prajwal was booked under sections 376(2)(k) (being in a position of control or dominance over a woman, commits rape on such woman), 376 (2)(n) (repeated rape on the same woman), 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 354C (voyeurism), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 201 (disappearance of evidence) of the IPC, and Section 66E (violation of privacy) of the IT Act.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which probed the case, filed a 1,632-page chargesheet in September 2024. The prosecution examined 26 witnesses and submitted 180 documents.
