Bengaluru, Karnataka: A trial court in Bengaluru has reserved its verdict in the infamous sexual harassment case against suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, for July 30.

The court examined 26 witnesses against Revanna during the trial, and both the prosecution and defense completed their arguments based on the contents of the chargesheet.

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Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat heard the case. In April, the trial court had framed various criminal charges against Revanna for the offenses under various sections including rape and criminal intimidation.

He was also charged with the offense under Section 66E of the Information Technology Act, 2008, which punishes acts that violate the privacy of a person, for circulating private images without consent.

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The case pertains to the allegations raised by a maid who used to work at a farmhouse belonging to the Revanna family. The maid said that the politician had raped her repeatedly since the COVID-lockdown. As per her claim, she did not reveal the harassment initially as the accused had recorded visuals of the assault and threatened to leak them.

The maid had kept everything secret after leaving her job but later heard reports of visuals of such sexual assault being leaked. As per reports, over 2,900 videos depicting the sexual assault of several women were circulated online, and at least four complaints were registered against Revanna. Following the leak of the videos, Revanna left the country due to public uproar after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the State.

The politician, who remains in judicial custody in connection with the case since his arrest in May 2024 at Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore after arriving on a Lufthansa flight from Munich. Interpol had informed the Special Investigation Team (SIT), set up to investigate the case, of Prajwal’s check-in and boarding information from Munich. He was detained by immigration officers and handed over to the police at the airport.

The politician faces charges including Section 376(2)(k) (rape of a woman by a person who is in a dominant position or a position of control), Section 376(2)(n) (repeatedly raping a woman), Section 354A (outraging modesty), Section 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), Section 354C (voyeurism), Section 506 (criminal intimidation); and Section 201 (causing the disappearance of evidence of a crime).