Rape-Convict Prajwal Revanna Breaks Down In Court, Seeks Leniency: ‘My Only Mistake…’

Prajwal Revanna, convicted in a rape case, maintains his innocence, claiming his political rise is his "only mistake."

Former Lok Sabha MP Prajwal Revanna.

Source : PTI Images

Former Lok Sabha MP Prajwal Revanna reacted on Saturday to a special court in Bengaluru convicting him in a rape case, claiming that he has done nothing wrong. Revanna said that his “only mistake” was growing fast in politics as he sought lesser punishment from the court.

According to news agency PTI, the former legislator reportedly broke down before the court as he alleged that the women who complained against him were "purposefully" brought forward by the prosecution and that he did not volunteer to do so. "...they say that I have raped multiple women, but none of the women have come out voluntarily to complain, they came six days prior to election (Lok Sabha polls last year)...the prosecution side brought them purposefully and made them give a complaint," Prajwal was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. 

He also informed the court that he was a BE Mechanical graduate, consistently passing on merit. Stating that he will bow down to the court’s conviction, Revanna said that he has a family and that he has not seen his mother and father for the past six months. 

The special court for MPs/MLAs Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat on Friday had convicted the 34-year-old Prajwal in one of the four sexual abuse and rape cases registered against him. The court is likely to pronounce the quantum of sentence on Saturday. The prosecution advocates sought life imprisonment for Prajwal Revanna during the hearing, ahead of the sentencing.

The case pertains to a 48-year-old woman who was working as a help at the family's Gannikada farmhouse in Hassan district's Holenarasipura. She was allegedly raped twice—at the Hassan farmhouse and the Bengaluru residence—in 2021, and the act was recorded by the accused on his mobile phone. 

(With PTI inputs.)