Karnataka: Prajwal Revanna Awarded Life Imprisonment In Rape Case, Asked To Pay Rs 11L To Survivor

Bengaluru: Disgraced former MP Prajwal Revanna was handed a life imprisonment until his last breath in a rape case by a Special Court for MLAs and MPs in Bengaluru, ignoring his plea for a lesser punishment on Saturday.

Special Court Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat pronounced the quantum of sentence as "life imprisonment" and imposed a fine of Rs 11.6 lakh. The court convicted Prajwal on Friday for having raped a 48-year-old woman who worked as a domestic help at Prajwal's farmhouse near Hassan. Prajwal was accused of raping the woman twice -once in his Bengaluru residence and another time at the farmhouse.

The court handed over life imprisonment to Prajwal under sections 376(2)(k) and 376(2)(n) of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita. Section 376(2)(n), provides for a rigorous imprisonment of imprisonment for life and the imprisonment will be for the remainder of the convict's natural life, when the offender is involved in committing of repeated rape on the same woman. That means, Prajwal Revanna will have to spend his entire life behind bars. The judge also ordered an overall penalty of Rs 11.6 lakh fine of which Rs 11 lakhs will go to the rape survivor.

Prajwal was found guilty of rape, sexual abuse, destruction of evidence and offences under various provisions of Information Technology Act.

SIT Chief Praises Victim's Resolve

Senior IPS Officer B K Singh who headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Karnataka Government to probe into Prajwal's sexapades, praised the resolve of the victim to get conviction for Prajwal.

Speaking to reporters post the pronouncement of quantum of punishment by the court, Singh said the victim, who comes from a lower strata of the society, displayed great courage and resolve. "She stood like a rock with us (SIT) from the date of filing of the complaint to getting conviction. In a way she is responsible for today's verdict which will serve as a solace for women who are victims of sexual abuse and sexual assault," he said.

The specialty of this case, Singh added, is that it reached its finality in just 16 months. "From April 28, 2024, the day when the first case was registered against Prajwal and today when we got the verdict in the case, it was just one year and four months. The defence lawyers used every tactic to derail the hearing or delay it. But they could not succeed," he added.

The court on Friday convicted the 34-year-old Prajwal in one of the four sexual abuse and rape cases registered against him.

Prajwal pleaded for lesser punishment

On Saturday, Prajwal who was produced before the court for sentencing pleaded to the judge for a lesser punishment. The suspended JD(S) leader told the court that he is a BE Mechanical graduate, and has always passed on merit, breaking down to tears.

"They said I have raped multiple women, but none of 'these' women have come out voluntarily to complain, they came out six days prior to the election (Lok Sabha polls last year), the prosecution side brought them purposefully and coerced them to give complaint," he submitted before the court.

He told the court that the woman (victim) had not complained to anyone including her husband or kin about the alleged rape. "She comes and files a complaint when certain videos are circulated."

"I will bow down to the court's conviction", Prajwal said adding that, "I have a family, I have not seen my mother and father for six months now, please give me a shorter sentence that is what I request from the court."

"The only mistake I made in my life is my quick rise in politics," claimed Prajwal. He was arrested in May last year upon his arrival from Germany, where he went into hiding until his grandfather and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda wrote an open letter asking him to turn himself in to the law.

The court on Friday had convicted the 34-year-old Prajwal in one of the four sexual abuse and rape cases registered against him.

Earlier, the prosecution advocates had sought for life imprisonment for Prajwal Revanna during the hearing, ahead of the sentencing, considering the gravity of the offences.

The ruling came in a case in which a 48-year-old woman who was working as a domestic-aide at the Revanna family's Gannikada farmhouse in Hassan district's Holenarasipura. The woman was reportedly raped twice --at Hassan farm house and Bengaluru residence-- in 2021. The convict had recorded the act on his mobile phone, which reportedly trickled out later, leading to filing of cases against him.

Sentences

1. S.376(2)(k) - Imprisonment for life, 5 lakhs fine, in default 1 year imprisonment

2. S.376(2)(n) - Imprisonment for life which shall mean remainder of natural life, Fine of 5 lakhs, in default 1 year imprisonment

3. S.354A - Rigorous imprisonment for 3 yrs, fine of 25,000 in default SI for 6 months

4. S.354B - Rigorous imprisonment for 7 yrs, fine of 50,000 in default SI for 6 months

5. S.354C- Rigorous imprisonment for 3 yrs, fine of 25,000 in default SI for 6 months

6. S.506 - Rigorous imprisonment for 2 yrs, fine of 10,000 in default SI for 3 months

7. S.201 - Rigorous imprisonment for 3 yrs, fine of 25,000 in default SI for 6 months

8. S.66 E IT Act - Rigorous imprisonment for 3 yrs, fine of 25,000 in default SI for 6 months

9. Compensation awarded is 11,25,000 Rs out of the fine to be paid to the victim and rest to state

10. Sentences to run concurrently

Read More

1. Prajwal Revanna Convicted In Rape Case, Special Court To Announce Sentence Quantum Tomorrow
2. 130 Obscene Videos Of Uttar Pradesh BJP Mahila Morcha Leader's Son Go Viral On Social Media; 'Competition' With Prajwal Revanna, Says Akhilesh
3. Prajwal Revanna Watched Obscene Videos In Car, Had Dozens Of Such Videos And Photos Saved In Phone, Says His Ex-Driver