Kochi: The Suryanelli gangrape survivor on Friday withdrew her request to appoint Special prosecutors to contest the appeals of the 35 accused in the case in the Kerala High Court. However, the court permitted the survivor to make an application to appoint a counsel of her choice to assist the prosecution.
Earlier, the government had informed the court that her request to appoint two special prosecutors - Suresh Babu Thomas and CS Ajayan - to conduct the case, has been declined. Considering the fact that final hearing on appeals was progressing before a Division Bench for the past two weeks, Justice PK Ramachandra Menon disposed of the survivor's plea.
The survivor had complained that the Director General of Prosecutions (DGP), T Asaf Ali, had tendered an adverse legal advice to her in her complaint against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, PJ Kurien and if he conducts a hearing on the appeals, she would be 'greatly prejudiced'. The earlier prosecutors, Suresh Babu Thomas and CS Ajayan, who conducted the case successfully at special court, Kottayam, were conversant with all details of the case and would only take minimum time to prepare the case and hence they should be appointed, she had submitted.
Despite new evidence cropping up as revealed by key accused Darmarajan against Kurien, government and police on DGP's advice refused to take action against him, she had said. The trial court had convicted and sentenced the 35 accused to varying terms of imprisonment but the High Court
07:09 PM, Apr 12, 2013
Kerala High Court on Thursday granted bail to the 31 accused in the 1996 Suryanelli gangrape case. A Division Bench comprising Justices KT Shankaran and ML Joseph Francis allowed the bail pleas filed by the accused last month. ...
11:52 AM, Mar 21, 2013
Kerala High Court on Monday directed the state government to file a statement regarding details of cases filed by the Suryanelli rape victim against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien before the magistrate and higher courts. The direction in this regard was issued by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and justice Vinod Chandran on a PIL filed by Kamala Sadanandan, General Secretary of Kerala Mahila Sangam, a...
12:59 PM, Mar 11, 2013
The government stood firmly behind Congress leader and Rajya Sabha deputy Chairman PJ Kurien as the Suryanelli rape case came up for debate in the House. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said that no evidence had been found Kurien by the investigating agencies and that the lawyer who represented the rape survivor in the Supreme Court had said that no case could be made against him. ...
02:45 PM, Feb 26, 2013
Union Minister Shashi Tharoor has reportedly defended police action against 111 people for posting and sharing 'defamatory' remarks against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien in the Suryanelli gangrape case. The Cyber cell of the Kerala Police had filed cases against the Internet users, based on a complaint filed by Kerala Mahila Congress leader Bindu Krishna, who alleged that many of the comments also targeted her. ...
08:14 AM, Feb 26, 2013
A case was filed against 111 people on Monday for defamatory remarks against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien on Facebook over the Suryanelli gangrape case. Bindu Krishna, a Mahila Congress leader in Kerala, had filed a complaint with the cyber cell of the Kerala Police against the defamatory comments. ...
12:42 PM, Feb 25, 2013
Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Friday directed the government to probe the alleged "manhandling" of CPI-M member TN Seema by Delhi Police during a protest demanding removal of Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien who is facing charges in the Suryanelli rape case. ...
01:22 PM, Feb 22, 2013
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien on Wednesday wrote to members of the House saying the charges of rape against him were false. He wrote to the Rajya Sabha MPs a day before the Budget Session of Parliament is to begin. ...
07:27 PM, Feb 20, 2013
There is furore over comments by Congress MP K Sudhakar against the Suryanelli gangrape survivor. K Sudhakaran has been criticised after he reportedly called her a prostitute. ...
02:04 PM, Feb 18, 2013
There is furore over comments by a Congress MP against the Suryanelli gangrape case survivor. Congress MP K Sudhakaran has been criticised after he reportedly called the survivor a prostitute. He made the controversial comment during a press conference in Muscat. ...
08:29 AM, Feb 18, 2013
Geetika Sharma had committed suicide last year and in her suicide note, she had alleged harassment by former Haryana Home Minister Gopal Kanda. ...
10:13 PM, Feb 15, 2013
Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy on Friday ruled out re-investigation in the Suryanelli gangrape case. The state government had on Wednesday received legal opinions that there was no need to re-investigate the case as the victim was repeating the charge she had earlier raised and there was nothing in her new revelation. ...
05:59 PM, Feb 15, 2013
The third accused in the Suryanelli rape case, SS Dharmarajan, was taken into custody by a special team of the Kerala police on Friday. Dharmarajan was arrested from an undisclosed location in Karnataka and will be brought to the special court in Kotayam where he will be presented before the magistrate. Dharmarajan, who was granted bail in 2005, had been absconding since then. ...
01:09 PM, Feb 15, 2013
Just as the Congress party prepares to defend Rajya Sabha MP PJ Kurien in the Suryanelli gangrape case, it faced yet another embarrassment in Kerala. This time around, it was Union Minister Vayalar Ravi who made some sexist comments to a female journalist. When she asked him about Kurien, Ravi's response was shocking. In the video, he was seen asking the reporter if she has had a personal problem with...
07:51 PM, Feb 14, 2013
There is outrage in Kerala after Union Minister Vayalar Ravi was caught on video making a personal swipe at a female reporter who wanted his reaction to Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson PJ Kurien's alleged involvement in the Suryanelli gangrape case. ...
02:05 PM, Feb 14, 2013
Former Investigating Officer in the Suriyanelli gangrape case K Ittoop on Wednesday backed Rajya Sabha Deputy chairman PJ Kurien, saying he was not involved in the infamous case that continues to haunt the Congress politician since the past 17 years. Ittoop, who headed the investigation team in the case before Sibi Mathews took over, told reporters here that Kurien was not involved in the case. ...
07:23 PM, Feb 13, 2013
Kerala Police has set up a special team to trace and arrest the absconding convict in the Suryanelli gangrape case, who appeared on a Malayalam TV channel alleging that Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien was involved in the case, as claimed by the victim. The four-member team has left for Karnataka from where Dharmarajan purportedly gave the interview to the channel on Monday and made the startling claim. ...
01:31 PM, Feb 12, 2013
Caught with allegations in the Suryanelli gangrape case, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson PJ Kurien has written to Congress President Sonia Gandhi. He has said that the allegations on him in the Suryanelli gangrape case are political vendetta. ...
12:45 PM, Feb 12, 2013
A petition seeking sanction to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against former judge of Kerala High Court R Basant, whose controversial remarks on Suryanelli rape case victim has sparked off protests, was filed before the state Advocate General. ...
08:05 PM, Feb 11, 2013
A day after Congress leader from Kerala, PC Chacko, said that the party would formulate its stand on the demand for removal of PJ Kurien as the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman before the Budget Session of Parliament commences, the party on Monday distanced itself from the statement saying the decision would be taken by court hearing the Suryanelli gangrape case. Since Kurien's name figured in the case, demand for his...
07:07 PM, Feb 11, 2013
