Bengaluru
The High Court has given another major setback to former MP Prajwal Revanna, who is serving a life sentence in a rape case.
On Wednesday, the court dismissed his plea seeking suspension of the sentence and release on bail. His lawyer, Siddharth Luthra, argued that Prajwal would not escape if granted bail and would attend the hearings of the other two related cases. However, the court was not convinced and refused to grant relief.
Prajwal Revanna had earlier been convicted by the special court for public representatives for raping a domestic helper at K.R. Nagar. He was sentenced to life imprisonment after the court found strong evidence, including a video recovered from his mobile phone. The video reportedly showed him stripping the victim and sexually assaulting her. Forensic Science Laboratory tests later confirmed that he was the person seen in the video.
The case began when the domestic helper accused Prajwal of rape. Fearing the crime would be exposed, nine people, including Revanna, Bhavani, and Satish Babu, allegedly kidnapped her and confined her in a farmhouse near Hunsur. Eight of the accused were arrested for the kidnapping. Bhavani Revanna, who had absconded earlier, later secured anticipatory bail.
A Special Investigation Team rescued the victim and recorded her statement. This led to a chargesheet and further evidence collection. Another related controversy surfaced during the last Lok Sabha elections when pen drives containing obscene videos said to be linked to Prajwal were widely circulated in Hassan. This led to a separate complaint by a woman from Holenarasipur. Prajwal was arrested on May 31, 2024, following the new allegations, adding more pressure to the ongoing legal battle.
