WHY IN THE NEWS?
The deeds of powerful perpetrators often get overshadowed on account of the ability of that power to cause destruction. In that backdrop, conviction of Prajwal Revanna, former Janata Dal (Secular) Member of Parliament and grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, for a heinous crime comes as a relief for the victims.
BACKGROUND
The accused had allegedly raped a forty-eight year old domestic worker two times at his family’s home in Hassan and Bengaluru in the year of 2021, and the same was recorded iby the accused on his mobile phone. In April 2024, with the approaching general elections, the fore-mentioned explicit clips of the alleged act showing the accused’s misdemeanors were leaked through pen drives across the public places in Hassan which was the hometown of the accused. Although, in the videos Revanna’s face was not visible, only the woman’s face was visible, which was a sheer violation of her safety and privacy. The former help and other women came forward with their complaints but their agony was far from over. Using political power, and backed by his parents, former Minister H.D. Revanna and Bhavani Revanna, the accused tried at his best to twist the situation, threatening the victim, trying to stop her from giving any testimonials against him but a Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigated the matter and he was finally arrested in May 2024. The SIT filed the first charge sheet in August 2024.
Result of Investigation
Senior advocates Ashok Nayak and B.N. Jagadeesha were special public prosecutors in the aforesaid case. Special public prosecutor Ashok Nayak stated before the press that the prosecution had examined 26 witnesses and submitted 180 documents before the court. Out of which the main evidence was of the victim which was a very convincing one.“The main evidence is of the victim, a lady, it was a very very convincing one…”
The prosecution further stated that they relied not only upon the oral evidence, but also the digital evidence, technical evidence, DNA report, FSL report. Furthermore, the prosecution was able to find the victim’s cloth in the alleged video even after three-four years wherein they also found the DNA of the accused on them.
HOW DID THE COURT APPROACHED THE MATTER?
Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat has heard the matter.The court has convicted Prajwal Revanna on all counts, accepting the prosecution’s case and the accused was booked under Sections 376(2)(k) for being in a position of control or dominance over a woman, commits rape on such woman, 376(2)(n) repeated rape on the same woman, 506 for criminal intimidation, 201 for disappearance of evidence of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and 66E for violation of privacy of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
CONCLUSION
The cries of the victim of sexual assault often gets unheard upon the weight of the power the perpetrators hold, in that backdrop the conviction of political player Prajwal Revanna came as a relief.
AUTHOR’S INFORMATION
Mansi, a third year law student currently studying at VIPS-TC under Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University with a growing interest for legal research. She’s passionate about criminal justice, family law and women & child rights.