Prajwal Revanna Convicted of Rape 

He wept in the courtroom. A man born to power, a grandson of a former prime minister, sat slumped as the judge read out the verdict: guilty of rape. The charge—brought by a 47-year-old farm worker—was the first of four such cases against Prajwal Revanna. On August 1, 2025, he was convicted of rape by a Special Court of Sessions for criminal cases against former and present MPs and MLAs, while still bearing the full weight of a political dynasty behind him.

Revanna, formerly a Member of Parliament from Hassan, had contested the 2024 general elections on a Janata Dal (Secular) ticket, with backing from the BJP in a pre-poll alliance. By the time the SIT investigating the sexual assault allegations began collecting evidence, he had already left the country. The allegations emerged in the form of thousands of explicit videos, which began circulating in April 2024. Public pressure mounted. An Interpol red corner notice was issued. The SIT traced him to Germany, and he returned only after weeks of political and legal negotiation. Upon his arrival in India, Revanna was taken into custody, and eventually, charges were framed in four cases under IPC Sections 376(2)(k) and (n), as well as under provisions on sexual harassment, voyeurism, criminal intimidation, and Section 66E of the Information Technology Act.

The court’s judgment in the first case relied heavily on forensic evidence. Over 2,000 video clips were recovered and analysed. A petticoat retrieved from the assault site was found to contain semen and sweat matching Revanna’s DNA. Voice analysis software confirmed that the male voice in the video matched his. Morphological comparisons between the videos and Revanna’s body structure were also submitted. The court treated this forensic trail as admissible and credible, and delivered its verdict within 14 months of the complaint, an unusually swift timeline for a high-profile sexual assault case in India.

The political response to the allegations had been slow and guarded. Despite the circulation of graphic video evidence implicating Revanna in multiple assaults, JD(S) did not act immediately. HD Deve Gowda, the party’s patriarch and Revanna’s grandfather, and HD Kumaraswamy, former chief minister and uncle to the accused, avoided direct statements in the early weeks, and suspended him from the party only when the situation became untenable.

BJP, which had allied with JD(S) in the 2024 elections and supported Revanna’s candidature, did not issue a formal statement in the aftermath of the allegations. Following his arrest, BJP leaders distanced themselves from the case but did not acknowledge any responsibility in fielding a candidate under investigation. Congress leaders in Karnataka criticised both JD(S) and BJP, accusing them of shielding Revanna and of enabling his departure from the country after the videos first surfaced.

The court’s decision has opened a rare chapter in Indian criminal justice, one where forensic evidence proved decisive in convicting a high-ranking politician of sexual violence. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the conviction rate for rape cases in India remains around 27–28 percent. Among politicians, even FIRs are rare, and convictions rarer still. In this context, the Revanna case stands out not only for its speed but also for the breadth of forensic documentation.

The Deve Gowda family has maintained silence following the conviction, and the party apparatus has avoided engaging with the media. Civil society organisations, women’s rights groups, and Dalit collectives across Karnataka have issued statements acknowledging the verdict but emphasising the systemic failure that allowed the alleged assaults to continue unchecked for years. Many have pointed out that the complainant in this case came forward only after videos were made public, and that dozens of women identified in the SIT’s analysis chose not to file formal complaints.

The court is expected to pronounce Revanna’s sentence on August 2. Legal experts have noted that under IPC Section 376(2)(n), the minimum sentence is 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, extendable to life. Revanna’s legal team has indicated that they will file an appeal. Meanwhile, proceedings continue in the three other cases filed against him.

What happens next, legally and politically, remains uncertain. But as of August 1, a rare legal threshold was crossed: a member of India’s political elite, tried and convicted of rape in a court of law. And the outcome relied not on political will, but on forensic detail.

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