Prajwal rape case: Judge hailed for unbiased verdict | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: Before the judgment in the case came out, hundreds of advocates, mainly women, gathered near the special court—all curious to know what the punishment could be. While some opined that it could range from 10 years and above, many women lawyers were seeking a life conviction.“All over the media, the news of Prajwal shedding tears after getting convicted Friday was discussed and shared. But what about those women victims? What about their families? They too have shed tears all their lives, faced anxiety and pain. Destroying a woman’s life means destroying an entire family. The survivors have to live a life with bad memories. We seek a life conviction for the accused,” some of them said.To many advocates, special judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat is a role model. “We witnessed a case that’s free from political intervention or any other kind of influence like money. Surely, this verdict will be talked about and discussed among the public for a long time,” a senior advocate said, adding: “Another important aspect is that Prajwal failed to secure bail from courts. He was in prison for over a year (since arrested on May 31, 2024). This is also something unusual.” A woman advocate recalled how Santosh Gajanan Bhat, during his tenure as district judge in Hassan, convicted a man in a rape case in just 14 days of hearing. “In another case, a man was accused of murdering his wife. However, the witnesses, including the victim’s family, turned hostile during the trial. But judge Bhat, relying on the medical evidence—where the skin of the accused was found in the nails of the victim—held him guilty and convicted him for life,” she recalled.