New Delhi: A special court for MPs on Friday (August 1) convicted former Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna in one of the three rape cases filed against him last year.

This is the first trial to be completed among the three rape cases and one sexual harassment case against him.

The quantum of punishment for the conviction announced today is likely to be pronounced on August 2. The victim in this case is a 48-year-old former help at Revanna’s family home. Revanna is also accused of forcing the woman’s daughter to strip over a video call.

Revanna is a former MP from Hassan and the grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. The cases against the ex-MP came to light in April last year when multiple videos showed instances of what looked like him committing forceful and non-consensual sexual acts.

In many videos, it appeared he recorded women without their consent and who appeared to be under some form of duress.

Prajwal had left India just as the videos were publicly circulated but returned on May 31, when he was immediately arrested by the SIT. 

The special court earlier this year framed charges against Revanna under sections 376(2)(k) (raping a woman over whom one has control or power), 376(2)(n) (repeatedly raping the same woman), 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (disrobing a woman), 354C (voyeurism), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the then Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 66E (violation of privacy) of the Information Technology Act, the Times of India reported.

The trial against Revanna began on May 2, 2025.

This is a developing story.

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