India, Aug. 8 -- A Bengaluru court has held that former Janata Dal (S) parliamentarian Prajwal Revanna's crimes were not only "heinous" but compounded by his "abuse of power," repeated sexual violence, and the "lasting trauma" inflicted on the survivor.

While awarding Revanna the maximum sentence of life imprisonment following his conviction for the offence of rape last week, sessions judge Santosh Gajanana Bhat, in his 480 page judgement, held that as a sitting MP, Revanna wielded his political and social dominance to violate a woman employed in his household, coercing her into silence through "fear, shame, and manipulation."

The court found no mitigating factors, only aggravating ones, while sentencing the former MP. It noted that Rev...