Prajwal Revanna’s Birthday Gift: Life Imprisonment for His Sexual Exploits

Former Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)] Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna could never have expected that his sexual exploits would become his downfall just ahead of his birthday. Prajwal, the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, who turns 35 on 5 August, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court for elected representatives in Bengaluru on 2 August, just a day after being convicted in one of the four rape and sexual harassment cases registered against him in 2024.Prajwal's conviction was based on a complaint filed by a 47-year-old domestic help on 2 May 2024, alleging sexual harassment at the family's farmhouse in Hassan and residence in Bengaluru between 2019 and 2021. Defeated in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Hassan, which he had represented in 2019, Prajwal has been in prison since his return from Germany on 31 May, where he fled a day after the Lok Sabha polls in April 2024. An Unparliamentary Government: What the Prajwal Revanna House of Horrors ExposesAlthough a blue corner notice (a global alert to gather information about a person in a criminal investigation) was issued, Prajwal eluded the police until Deve Gowda stepped in and urged his grandson to return and cooperate with the investigation on 23 May 2024.An all-women Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested him on his arrival at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport on 31 May 2024.The special court for elected representatives, Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat, also ordered payment of Rs 11.6 lakh as fine, of which Rs 11.25 lakh has to be paid to the domestic help.Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in April 2024, pen drives capturing intimate moments of Prajwal with women were found strewn in public places in Hassan. Prajwal and his family members claimed the videos were doctored and circulated through pen drives to tarnish their image in Hassan during the polls. The sleazy videos became public after they were reportedly downloaded by Prajwal's former driver.An SIT of the Karnataka police, constituted to probe the rape and sexual harassment complaints, found 50 such videos and over 2,000 photographs of Prajwal's intimate moments with women, all reportedly shot by him on his mobile phone.While shooting the photos, Prajwal had ensured that only the women were seen and not him. The investigations had identified 70 survivors, but only four women, including the domestic help, came forward to file complaints.Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (Media and Communications) chief Ramesh Babu said though courts have convicted politicians in the past on corruption charges, Prajwal's case is the first on grounds of moral misdemeanour.“It's not a good sign, as politicians are always looked down upon with disgust,” he added. 'I Will Return...': How Prajwal Revanna Was Allowed To Evade Justice for a MonthAmong the prominent politicians convicted by courts and jailed are former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam in 2022, former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa in 2012 in two corruption cases of illegally denotifying lands in and around Bengaluru for monetary gains, and Tamil Nadu former chief minister J Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case in 2014. A year later, the Karnataka High Court overturned the judgment and she was reinstated as the chief minister.Prajwal's political journey, cut short by his conviction, is a personal loss to Deve Gowda, who had plans to groom him as his political heir. This was one of the reasons Deve Gowda abdicated the Hassan Lok Sabha seat to Prajwal in 2019, which the former Prime Minister had represented in 1991, 1998, and from 2004 to 2014 without a break.Soon after the videos became public and police investigations commenced, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy distanced himself from his brother, JD(S) MLA HD Revanna, father of Prajwal.He said,“We are done with our responsibilities. I had appealed to Prajwal to face the consequences, and even Deve Gowda had issued a stern warning to him. Henceforth, the responsibility rests with the SIT and the court.”According to sources close to the Deve Gowda family, there was no love lost between the two brothers, Kumaraswamy and Revanna.“The relationship strained after both Deve Gowda’s daughters-in-law (Kumaraswamy and Revanna’s wives) wanted to enter politics. Deve Gowda had picked Kumaraswamy to be the chief minister and Revanna to look after the Holenarsipura constituency and Hassan district, the family’s home turf, based on astrologers’ suggestions,” they added. The eldest son, HD Balakrishna Gowda, chose to join government service and retired as a Karnataka Administrative Officer.'The Acquitted in 7/11 Mumbai Blasts, Deserve an Apology, Yet Our Fight Goes On'Anitha Kumaraswamy represented Madhugiri in Tumakuru district and Ramanagara in 2008 and 2018 respectively. Revanna’s wife Bhavani was an elected member of the Hassan zila panchayat and had almost declared herself as the Hassan candidate during the 2023 Assembly polls, but backed out following Deve Gowda’s intervention. Revanna has been representing Holenarsipura, the constituency from where Deve Gowda started his political career, winning as an Independent candidate in 1962. Revanna stepped in as the constituency’s MLA in 1994 and 2004. While Prajwal made his political debut from the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency in 2019, his brother Suraj Revanna is a sitting MLC.Sources said the entire Revanna family is tainted.Bhavani has been accused of conspiring to abduct the domestic help and preventing her from filing the case against Prajwal. Her husband, Revanna, has been accused by the same domestic help of alleged sexual harassment.A case against Suraj Revanna for the alleged sexual assault of a 27-year-old male JD(S) worker was closed in June 2025.An ageing Deve Gowda, who is 92 years old, and Kumaraswamy, who has health issues, have turned their focus to Kumaraswamy’s son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy. Sources said he is the bright spark among the third generation in the Deve Gowda family and is being seen as the one to continue the legacy. An actor-turned-politician, Nikhil has faced three political defeats and is now being groomed to take over the JD(S) state president’s post in the future.(Naheed Ataulla is a senior political journalist based in Bengaluru. This is an opinion piece, and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)Chole Kulche, Caste, and the Law: The Real Crisis Facing Delhi’s Food Vendors

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Prajwal Revanna’s Birthday Gift: Life Imprisonment for His Sexual Exploits

Prajwal's political journey, cut short by his conviction, is a personal loss to Deve Gowda, writes Naheed Ataulla.

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Topics: Sexual Assault Janata Dal (Secular) Prajwal Revanna