The Karnataka High Court announced on Thursday that it would postpone the appeal hearing for former Member of Parliament Prajwal Revanna until October 28. Revanna is challenging a special court’s decision that found him guilty of repeatedly raping a domestic worker at properties owned by his family in Holenarasipura and Bengaluru between January 2021 and January 2022.
During the proceedings, a Division Bench, consisting of Justice K.S. Mudagal and Justice Venkatesh Naik T, inquired of the prosecution whether a special public prosecutor had been assigned to the case. This question arose because a special prosecutor had been appointed for the initial trial before the special court of sessions, which handles criminal cases against current and former Members of Parliament and Legislative Assembly in Karnataka.
On August 2, the special court had handed down a severe sentence to Prajwal Revanna, condemning him to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life under Section 376(2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code, which addresses repeated rape of the same individual — the most stringent penalty for this offense. Additionally, he received a life sentence under Section 376(2)(k) for committing rape while in a position of authority or control over the woman. Further charges included offenses under the IPC and the Information Technology Act, 2000, related to video recording his sexual encounters with the victim and storing these recordings on a mobile phone.
This particular conviction is one of four rape cases filed against Revanna; the remaining three cases are still awaiting trial before the special court.