Prajwal Revanna ‘sex video’ case: 7 times prominent politicians were booked for 'crimes against women' in India

Janata Dal (Secular) Member of Parliament (MP) , embroiled in a scandal over obscene videos allegedly involving him, has been booked by Karnataka police after an accusation of sexual harassment by a woman who worked as a house help at his home.

The woman, 47, has also named Holenarasipur MLA HD Revanna, Prajwal's father, as an accused. The case has been registered at Holenarasipur police station in Karnataka's Hassan district.

, the grandson of former Prime Minister , and whose father, HD Revanna, is a former minister, is seeking another term in the Lok Sabha from Hassan seat. The constituency went to polling in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 26. JD (S) is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) in Karnataka. 

Revanna filed a complaint on April 28, claiming the viral videos are “" and are being circulated to “tarnish his image and poison the minds of voters"

This is not the first time that a politician in India has been accused of crimes against women. India has a history of influential politicians being accused of sexual crimes. 

As many as (MP) and members of legislative assemblies (MLA) have cases related to crimes against women, which includes 21 MPs and 113 MLAs, according to a August 2023 report by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The ADR analysed 762 sitting MPs and 4,001 sitting MLAs.  

Among parties, BJP had 44 lawmakers (MPs and MLAs) against whom cases of “crimes against women" have been registered. This included . The Congress had 25 followed by AAP with 13 sitting MPs or MLAs who have declared cases related to crimes against women.

Here are some prominent politicians who have been accused of sexual crimes in the past, before Prajwal Revanna.

, the sitting Bhartiya