A court in southern India has sentenced Prajwal Revanna, a Karnataka politician and grandson of former Indian Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, to life imprisonment after convicting him of rape.
The 34-year-old former Member of Parliament was found guilty on Friday of sexually assaulting a domestic worker employed at his residence. The sentencing was handed down the following day.
Revanna, a member of the Janata Dal (Secular) party—which is currently allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—faced intense public scrutiny in 2023 after numerous explicit videos, allegedly involving him, were circulated widely on social media.
Though he denied the allegations throughout the trial, Revanna reportedly broke down in court upon hearing the verdict and appealed for leniency.
Legal experts say he retains the right to appeal the life sentence.
