Bengaluru Court rejects Prajwal Revanna's second bail plea in rape case

Bengaluru: The Special Court for People's Representatives here on Friday dismissed a second bail application filed by suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna in connection with one of the rape cases registered against him.

The plea was rejected by Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat, after Revanna sought relief, citing delays in the trial proceedings. This was his second attempt at securing bail from the lower court, following an earlier denial.

Revanna had recently approached the Karnataka High Court seeking bail on the grounds of changed circumstances due to the trial's prolonged timeline.

However, on July 9, Justice S R Krishna Kumar advised him to move the trial court instead, while granting him the liberty to re-approach the High Court depending on the outcome.

Following this direction, Revanna once again approached the special court, which has now declined his request for bail.

Revanna is the prime accused in four criminal cases filed last year, after over 2,000 obscene video clips--allegedly depicting the sexual abuse of multiple women--surfaced on social media.

The first complaint against him was lodged in April, 2024 by a woman who had worked as a domestic help at his family's farmhouse. She accused Revanna of repeatedly raping her since 2021 and threatening to release videos of the abuse if she revealed the incidents to anyone.

In this case, the court has already framed charges against Revanna under various sections, including rape, voyeurism, criminal intimidation, and unlawful circulation of intimate images.

The court concluded hearings in the matter on July 18 and has reserved its verdict, which is scheduled to be pronounced on July 30.