Bengaluru: From the time a large number of pen drives allegedly containing his sex videos surfaced in Hassan in April 2024—amid the Lok Sabha election buzz—to his arrest by an all-women Special Investigation Team (SIT) upon his return from Germany on May 31, 2024, former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna has been at the centre of a series of unexpected developments.
Revanna was sentenced to life imprisonment in one of the cases against him on Saturday—a culmination of events that derailed his once-ambitious political career.
The case pertains to the rape of a 48-year-old woman who worked as domestic help at the family’s Gannikada farmhouse in Hassan. She alleged she was raped twice by Revanna—once at the farmhouse and again at his residence in Bengaluru’s Basavanagudi during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021.
April 2024: Sex videos surfaced, sparking a nationwide uproar. He claimed the leak was politically motivated, aimed at derailing his chances of winning a Lok Sabha seat.
April 20, 2024: Revanna’s election agent filed an FIR alleging that the videos were being circulated to tarnish his image ahead of the elections.
April 26, 2024: Polling for the Lok Sabha elections concludes; Revanna leaves the country on a diplomatic passport.
April 27, 2024: The Karnataka government constitutes an SIT to probe the allegations.
April 28, 2024: Revanna and his father, former minister H D Revanna, are booked for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint filed by their former domestic worker.
April 29, 2024: The complainant goes missing, allegedly abducted by Revanna’s parents to prevent her from testifying against him.
April 30, 2024: JD(S) suspends Revanna from the party.
May 2, 2024: Karnataka Police book Revanna on rape charges and issue lookout notices for the “absconding” MP.
May 4, 2024: The abducted former domestic worker is rescued by the SIT.
May 30, 2024: Revanna boards a flight to Bengaluru from Frankfurt Main airport in Germany.
May 31, 2024: He is intercepted and arrested by the all-women SIT upon arrival and remanded to custody.
June 26, 2024: The Special Court for MPs and MLAs, set up to fast-track criminal cases against public representatives, denies bail to Revanna.
July 5, 2024: Revanna moves the Karnataka High Court seeking bail.
August 23, 2024: The SIT files the first chargesheet in the case.
September 9, 2024: The SIT submits a second chargesheet running into 1,632 pages.
October 21, 2024: The Karnataka High Court denies Revanna both regular and anticipatory bail in two rape cases and one sexual assault case.
November 2, 2024: Revanna’s DNA is found on the undergarments of the alleged rape survivor.
November 11, 2024: The Supreme Court rejects Revanna’s bail plea.
January 16, 2025: The Karnataka High Court denies his request for a print copy of all digital evidence in the rape case.
May 1, 2025: The Karnataka High Court dismisses a petition filed by his mother, Bhavani Revanna, seeking more time to appoint a new advocate.
May 2, 2025: Trial begins in the Special Court for MPs and MLAs in the rape case filed by the former domestic worker.
July 18, 2025: Trial concludes; the court reserves its verdict for July 30.
July 30, 2025: The Special Court seeks clarification and adjourns the case to August 1.
August 1, 2025: The Special Court convicts Revanna of rape; the quantum of punishment was scheduled to be pronounced the following day.
