NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday admitted the special leave petitions (SLPs) filed by the Kerala Government and others challenging a Kerala High Court judgment acquitting all except the prime accused S. S. Dharmarajan in the Suryanelli sex scandal case.

A Bench of Justice Ashok Bhan and Justice Dalveer Bhandari also allowed the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) to intervene in the matter. The High Court, while setting aside the life imprisonment awarded to Dharmarajan on charges of gang rape and kidnapping, imposed five years' rigorous imprisonment on him on other counts.

The Suryanelli case relates to the abduction and sexual assault of a minor by several men in a span of 40 days in 1996. On September 6, 2000, the Special Court sentenced all the 35 accused to rigorous imprisonment (RI) for varying terms. The first accused, conductor Raju, and the second accused, Usha, were sentenced to 13 years' rigorous imprisonment with fine and an additional jail term of four years on different counts. Dharmarajan who had been absconding was arrested later.

The trial court had convicted all the 35 accused on charges of rape, gang rape and kidnapping, but the High Court in January this year acquitted all except one.

The SLPs were filed by the Kerala Government and the victim girl seeking to quash the impugned judgment, contending that the High Court had erred in acquitting the accused.

The petitions pleaded for restoring the punishment imposed by the trial court to the accused in the case.

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