Prajwal Revanna Challenges Rape Conviction In Karnataka High Court, Citing Delays And Evidence Lapses

Former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna’s appeal against his rape conviction was recently taken up by the Karnataka High Court, where his legal team argued that the trial court’s decision had been influenced by media-driven narratives rather than firm evidence.

A Division Bench comprising Justices KS Mudagal and Venkatesh Naik heard the appeal on 13 November.

Revanna’s counsel, senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, submitted that the conviction lacked substantive incriminating material. He highlighted discrepancies in witness testimonies and suggested that the trial judge had been influenced by the survivor’s emotional state during her deposition — a factor he argued could not justify imposing a life sentence.

He also pointed to a delay of three to four years in reporting the alleged offence and an additional delay of up to 48 hours in formally recording the complaint after the survivor approached the police.

According to him, these delays, combined with alleged lapses in evidence handling, undermined the prosecution's case.

The defense further argued that the chain of custody had not been properly demonstrated, stating that seized samples were neither sealed nor stored in accordance with procedure. Luthra also said several key officers had not been examined and criticised what he characterised as irregular procedures followed by certain medical board members during the investigation.

He additionally contended that Revanna had not been given a fair chance to present mitigating circumstances before sentencing. The trial court delivered its verdict on 1 August and imposed the maximum punishment the next day — a timeline the defense said deprived the accused of a meaningful hearing on the issue of sentencing.

Seeking interim bail, the senior counsel noted that Revanna has already spent a year in judicial custody and argued that continued confinement was unnecessary when, in his view, the prosecution’s case lacked a credible foundation.

The High Court will resume hearings on 25 November.

Revanna, who was arrested in May last year upon returning from Germany, is challenging the conviction on multiple grounds, including what he alleges are contradictions in the survivor’s testimony and inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence.

The case in which he has been convicted involves a 48-year-old woman employed as domestic help at the family’s Gannikada farmhouse in Holenarasipura, Hassan district. She was allegedly assaulted on two occasions in 2021 — once at the farmhouse and again at a residence in Bengaluru — and the acts were purportedly recorded on Revanna’s mobile phone.

The trial court relied on a range of evidence to convict him, including video recordings, DNA analysis of hair strands, and biological traces found on the survivor’s clothing.

Revanna is facing four separate cases involving allegations of rape and sexual harassment, which are being investigated by the SIT.

The matter came to public attention after pen drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving Revanna were circulated in Hassan ahead of the Lok Sabha elections held on 26 April 2024.