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 mother of the Suryanelli gangrape victim on Friday alleged that her family members had been restrained from attending the church by the Vicar of their parish in view of recent developments in the 1996 case. The church, however, refuted the charge maintaining that no ban of any kind had been imposed on anyone from coming to the church and saying prayers or attending the mass. ...
01:55 PM, Mar 08, 2013
Even as the Kerala High Court was yet to decide on a PIL seeking orders to make Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien an accused in the 1996 Suryanelli gangrape case, a lower court in the state has backed him saying there were no grounds to accept a case against him. ...
04:29 PM, Mar 02, 2013
Left parties on Friday boycotted Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien by staging a walkout to protest his presiding over the proceedings of the House when it was debating the Bhandara rape incident in Maharashtra. ...
05:32 PM, Mar 01, 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
The Kerala High Court on Monday posted till March 4 the bail hearing of 14 of the 36 accused in the Suryanelli gangrape case. The bail pleas had come up for hearing on Monday following an order from the Supreme Court. The list of the accused, however, does not include Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien. ...
02:20 PM, Feb 25, 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
Following an order from the Supreme Court on the Suryanelli gangrape case, the Kerala High Court will start hearing the bail pleas of 14 of the 36 accused on Monday. The list does not include Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien as he is not an accused in the case. ...
08:43 AM, Feb 25, 2013
In a new twist to Suryanelli gangrape case, the survivor on Friday lodged a police complaint insisting that Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien be made an accused. The complaint lodged at Chingavanam police station also sought that Dharmarajan, an absconding convict who had jumped bail in the case and was arrested recently from Karnataka, and two other persons - Unnikrishnan and Jamal, be also arraigned as accused. ...
08:32 PM, Feb 22, 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
Sources have said that Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien might recuse himself from debate on anti-rape ordinance in Parliament. ...
12:29 AM, Feb 22, 2013
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath will on Friday make a statement in the Rajya Sabha on the allegations levied against PJ Kurien in connection with the Suryanelli gangrape case. ...
05:45 PM, Feb 21, 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
With Congress leadership under pressure over allegation against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien in connection with the Suryanelli gangrape case, a party MP in the state has kicked up a row by making insulting comments on the rape victim. ...
06:45 PM, Feb 17, 2013
Dharmarajan, the absconding convict in the Suryanelli gangrape case who was arrested from Karnataka, was sent to the sub-jail in Kottayam by the District and Sessions Judge before whom he was produced on Saturday. ...
07:00 PM, Feb 16, 2013
