Revanna reportedly broke down before the court as he alleged that the women who complained against him were “purposefully” brought forward by the prosecution, and 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 told the court he was a BE Mechanical graduate, who always passed on merit.

The suspended JD(S) leader was convicted in a rape case on Friday and is awaiting a sentence in the case. “…please give me a less sentence is what I request the court,” Prajwal reportedly said, citing that he hasn’t met his family, including his father and mother, for six months now.

Prajwal is the grandson of former Prime Minister and JD (S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda.

While there are four cases containing charges of rape and sexual harassment against Revanna, the rape case he was convicted in on August 1 pertains to a 48-year-old woman who was employed as house help at his family’s Gannikada farmhouse in Karnataka’s Hassan. She was allegedly raped twice in 2021, and the act was filmed by the accused.

A day after his conviction, Prajwal Revanna alleged that the woman complained only when some videos were circulated, and that she did not raise alarm about the alleged rape to even her husband or kin.

“The only mistake I made in my life is growing fast in politics,” the 34-year-old told the court.

Prajwal Revanna upon his arrival from Germany on May 31 last year. He had failed to retain the Hassan Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka in the 2024 elections, and the conviction comes as an even bigger blow to his political career.

Ahead of his sentencing in the rape case, expected today, the prosecution has sought a life term for the former MP.

(With PTI inputs)