The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday refused to suspend the sentence of imprisonment for the remainder of life imposed on former Member of Parliament Prajwal Revanna by the trial court while convicting him in one of the four rape cases.
‘Not a fit case’
It is not a fit case for releasing Prajwal on bail by suspending the sentence during the pendency of his appeal against conviction, the court said, after assessing the material on record against him, the gravity of the offence, and the possible impact on the remaining rape cases as in those cases are pending against him.
A Division Bench comprising Justice K.S. Mudagal and Justice Venkatesh Naik T. passed the order while dismissing an interlocutory application filed by Prajwal seeking suspension of sentence during the pendency of his appeal against trial court’s August 1 verdict of convicting him on the charge of raping a 48-year-old woman, who was working as a domestic help in the family’s Gannikada farmhouse in Holenarasipura in Hassan district of Karnataka. He had raped her twice — at Hassan farmhouse, and at the Bengaluru residence of the family — in 2021, and the act was recorded by him on his mobile phone.
The Bench found force in the argument of the Special Public Prosecutor that the witnesses in other rape cases are likely to be tampered with if Prajwal is released on bail by suspending his sentence.
Charges
Prajwal was convicted for the offences under Sections 376(2)(k) (being in a position of control or dominance over a woman, commits rape on such woman), 376 (2)(n) (repeated rape on the same woman), 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 354C (voyeurism), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 201 (disappearance of evidence) of the IPC, and Section 66E (violation of privacy) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Further hearing on the appeal has been adjourned till January 12, 2026.
Published – December 03, 2025 07:50 pm IST
