BENGALURU, KARNATAKA — Prajwal Revanna, a former Janata Dal (Secular) MP, has been sentenced to life in prison for one of the rape allegations against him. This is a major turning point in a series of events that ruined his once-promising political career. The ruling, which was announced on Saturday, August 2, 2025, comes after a long legal battle that started in April 2024 when many purported sex recordings came to light during the heated Lok Sabha elections.
Revanna was sentenced to life in prison for the rape of a 48-year-old woman who worked as a maid at the Revanna family’s Gannikada home in Hassan. The survivor said that Revanna raped her twice: once at the farmhouse and again at his home in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru, during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021.
A Timeline of Events That Have Happened
There have been a number of shocking and surprising events along the way to this conviction:
In April 2024, a lot of pen drives that were said to have sex tapes of Prajwal Revanna on them showed up in Hassan, causing a national outrage. Revanna claimed that the leak occurred for political purposes, aiming to undermine his chances in the Lok Sabha elections.
On April 20, 2024, Revanna’s election agent filed a FIR, saying that the films were being spread to hurt his reputation before the polls.
The Lok Sabha elections ended on April 26, 2024. After that, Revanna left the nation using a diplomatic passport.
April 27, 2024: The Karnataka government set up an all-women Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the growing number of accusations.
On April 28, 2024, Revanna and his father, former minister H D Revanna, were charged with sexual harassment and criminal intimidation after their former domestic servant made a complaint.
On April 29, 2024, the person who filed the sexual harassment charge went missing. Revanna’s parents are said to have taken her to keep her from testifying against him.
The JD(S) party kicked Prajwal Revanna out of its ranks on April 30, 2024.
On May 2, 2024, the Karnataka Police officially charged Revanna with rape and put out lookout notices for the “absconding” MP.
On May 4, 2024, the SIT was able to save the former domestic servant who had been kidnapped.
On May 30, 2024, Revanna got on an aircraft from Frankfurt Main Airport in Germany to Bengaluru, which meant he was back.
On May 31, 2024, when he got to Bengaluru, the all-women SIT stopped him and arrested him. He was then taken into custody.
The Special Court for MPs and MLAs, which was set up to speed up criminal trials against public officials, granted bail to Revanna on June 26, 2024.
Revanna went to the Karnataka High Court on July 5, 2024, to ask for bail.
The SIT submitted its first chargesheet in the case on August 23, 2024.
On September 9, 2024, the SIT sent in a second, full chargesheet that was 1,632 pages long and included further claims.
On October 21, 2024, the Karnataka High Court turned down Revanna’s requests for both ordinary and anticipatory bail in two rape charges and one sexual assault case.
November 2, 2024: A key piece of evidence came to light when Revanna’s DNA was found on the alleged rape survivor’s underwear, which strengthened the prosecution’s case.
The Supreme Court turned down Revanna’s request for bail on November 11, 2024, maintaining the lower court’s ruling.
The Karnataka High Court turned down his plea for a printed copy of all the digital evidence in the rape case on January 16, 2025.
On May 1, 2025, the Karnataka High Court turned down a request by his mother, Bhavani Revanna, for extra time to hire a new lawyer. This showed that the family was trying to figure out how to deal with the judicial system.
On May 2, 2025, the rape case brought by the former maid began before the Special Court for MPs and MLAs.
The trial ended on July 18, 2025, and the court said it will give its decision on July 30.
On July 30, 2025, the Special Court asked for further information and put the case off until August 1.
On August 1, 2025, the Special Court found Revanna guilty of rape. The next day, the court was supposed to announce the sentence.
On August 2, 2025, Prajwal Revanna was given a life sentence in the case, which was a clear legal consequence.
The conviction and imprisonment of Prajwal Revanna show that the Indian court system is serious about looking into serious accusations against public persons, especially when there is a lot of political pressure.