The Karnataka High Court rejected former Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna’s bail plea and an anticipatory bail application on Monday, October 21. Prajwal, who is accused of rape and sexual assault by multiple women, did not deny his alleged sexual acts in court but argued that they were consensual. Citing this, his counsel Prabhuling Navadgi claimed that the charge under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code against Prajwal does not apply.
Senior Advocate Ravivarma Kumar, representing the prosecution, opposed this claim, arguing that Prajwal did not cooperate with the investigation and that he withheld access to his phone, which is key evidence in the trial.
The single-judge bench comprising Justice Nagaprasanna had earlier reserved order in Prajwal’s bail pleas to hear both parties.
Prajwal Revanna, now suspended from the JD(S), is former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda’s grandson. He is accused of sexually assaulting three women and videographing sexual acts with more than 70 women. He is said to have made nearly 3,000 videos of such acts and some of the videos were circulated in Karnataka’s Hassan district in the days leading up to the election for the Hassan MP seat.
So far, five women have come forward with accusations against Prajwal. The first to file complaints were Girija (name changed) and her daughter Sunitha (name changed). Prajwal is accused of raping Girija and coercing Sunitha to strip during a video call. The next complaint, which also involved rape, was lodged by a former public official and JD(S) party worker, who alleged that Prajwal sexually assaulted her at his official residence in Hassan town.
The fourth was a 47-year-old woman who had worked at the family's farmhouse six years ago and made similar accusations.
TNM has obtained details from the three chargesheets. One of the chargesheets says that DNA recovered from a survivor’s saree could prove to be a critical piece of incriminating evidence. In two of the cases, the SIT used forensic image analysis to confirm that the genitals seen in the videos matched those of Prajwal. However, in a third case, the video footage was too brief to allow for a conclusive identification.
Another woman later reported that Prajwal had molested her when she sought his assistance with a personal matter. A chargesheet is yet to be filed in this case.
Read the evidence trail in the Prajwal Revanna sexual assault case
TNM has been continuously reporting on this case, speaking to survivors and others affected, to explore the the profound societal impact of the sexual abuse videos. Our coverage can be accessed here.