In yet another hurdle before the legal procedures for examining whether PJ Kurien, presently Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, had any role in the infamous Suryanelli serial rape scandal, a division bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday recused itself from hearing a petition filed by the victim seeking review of an order that discharged the politician.
The division bench comprising Justices KT Sankaran and Ml Joseph Francis, which is handling cases relating to sexual atrocities against women, recused itself from hearing the victim’s petition on the ground that it was presently looking into the appeals filed by the accused in the rape case as per a direction given by the Supreme Court on January 31 this year.
The High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice P Bhavadasan had on December 5 referred the victim’s petition to this division bench on the basis of his observation that it implied serious legal issues. Justice Bhavadasan had earlier opined that discharge of Kurien from the case was against the principles of natural justice as the victim’s version was not heard.
The High Court had, in 2006, discharged Kurien from the case as the prosecution had not been able to prove his involvement. According to the victim, Kurien was one of the 42 men who had raped her over a period of 41 days in 1996 when she was just 16-years-old. The Supreme Court had, in 2007, upheld the HC verdict discharging Kurien from the case.