Power, Coercion and Conviction: The Sentencing of Prajwal Revanna

Introduction

A Special Court in Bangalore has passed its ruling in the high- profile rape case of Prajwal Revanna, a suspended Janata Dal (Secular) party leader and the grandson of ex-Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. The case which received national attention featured charges of multiple sexual assaults put forth against a 47- year- old domestic worker. The verdict is a landmark which brings to account a powerful political personality and also sets a large precedent for cases of power abuse.

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Report

The Special Court for the trial of criminal cases against present and former MPs/MLAs convicted Prajwal Revanna on August 2, 2025, on various counts and sentenced him to imprisonment for his natural life. This was his first conviction in many sexual offence cases tried against him.

The repeated rape committed in 2021 of a domestic worker at the properties owned by Revanna family was the point of focus of this case. The case provided by the prosecution was a well-constructed case as it was proven using the evidence provided by the victim and the DNA evidence that proved the stains on the clothes of the victim were linked to Revanna, and the digital evidence that was found on the videos of the assault that the prosecution verified as untouched. In the case, the prosecution was demanding the maximum sentence available because the crime was particularly brutal and the abuse of power so outrageous.

Instead, they indicated that Revanna who was already a Member of Parliament by then not only has raped the individual/victim but has also recorded this act, and was blackmailing and intimidating the victim using this record. They pointed out that his move amounted to a serious breach of trust by the people. The defense, on their part, stated the case was politically aimed and accused the accusation and the spread of explicit videos were planned so as to harm the political career of Revanna at the 2024 elections to the Lok Sabha. They begged the judge to be lenient adding that he was young with a good record prior to this mishap. The court nevertheless ruled in favour of the prosecution and found Revanna guilty of all the charges that lay against him.

Concurrently along with assault, he is charged with the intent to disrobe and voyeurism under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and three sections of the Information Technology Act. Criminal intimidation and destruction of evidence sentences are also running concurrently of IPC. The amount fined was a total of 11.6 lakhs out of which 11.25 lakhs would go as compensation directly to the survivor.