SC quashes acquittals in Suryanelli rape case

Agencies/New Delhi

The Supreme Court yesterday set aside a lower court’s verdict acquitting 35 men accused of raping a 16-year-old girl in the southern state of Kerala, officials said.

The ruling came amid an outcry over the fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi in December that prompted unprecedented protests about the treatment of women.

The Supreme Court, which heard an appeal against the 2005 Kerala High Court verdict, said the court did not look at the evidence properly and ordered that case be re-judged within six months.

The teenager from Suryanelli in the Idukki district of Kerala was abducted in January 1996 and allegedly raped by 42 men over 40 days in various locations in Kerala and neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

In September 2000, the trial court convicted 36 people and sentenced them to various jail terms. The Kerala High Court later acquitted 35 convicts. One person was held guilty and sentenced to five years in jail.

In its order yesterday, the Supreme Court said it was “very shocking” that the high court had come to the conclusion that the victim had been a “willing partner.”

The appeal against the high court verdict has been before the Supreme Court for almost seven years. In January, Chief Justice Altamas Kabir promised that sex crimes like the Suryanelli gang-rape would be fast-tracked in special courts.

Yesterday’s judgment brought relief to the family of the victim.

The father of the victim said: “God is great.”

“We know that God’s justice has been delivered through the judges of the apex court. My daughter would obviously be happy. Right now, she is in office,” the woman’s father said.

The E K Nayanar government (1996-2001) came to the help of the victim and offered her a job as a peon in the Kerala Sales Tax department.

The victim’s mother said: “We had only God to support us as we pursued justice. Our friends and relatives deserted us when we decided to go to the apex court. We have now informed our daughter about the verdict. We alone know of the hardships we have faced since this ordeal began. My daughter has to work. After we die, she still has to have an income. Even though she gets no moral support from her office, she continues to work.”

In February last, the woman, then 32, was arrested and suspended in what her family terms was a “false case” of financial misappropriation. When the media took up the issue, she was reinstated.

The family now lives in social isolation, ostracised by the local community. The victim continues to suffer serious health-related problems caused because of her 45-day ordeal 16 years ago.

lA 50-year-old man was arrested in Himachal Pradesh for allegedly raping his 17-year-old mentally impaired daughter, police said.

Kishori Lal of Gajoh village, some 15 km from Hamirpur town, was arrested on the complaint of his wife, Additional Superintendent of Police K G Kapoor said.

He said the incident came to light on Tuesday when the victim’s mother, who is separated from her husband, lodged a complaint.

The woman alleged that the first time he raped their daughter was on December 25 last year and he subsequently raped her several times.

The accused used to threaten his daughter if she revealed anything to anyone.

But the victim shared her ordeal with her mother on Tuesday, the police said.