Kerala - Kochi   

Appeal in ice-cream parlour sex scandal case dismissed

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday upheld the Kozhikode Principal Sessions Court verdict acquitting all 16 accused in the ice-cream parlour sex scandal case.

Justice K. Thankappan upheld the verdict while dismissing an appeal filed by the State government and a revision petition filed by K. Ajitha, president, Anweshi Women’s Counselling Centre, Kozhikode, against the judgment of the sessions court. The case dates back to 1996. The prosecution case was that Sreedevi, first accused, who earlier run a beauty parlour seduced girls and offered them to various persons. The first accused later converted the beauty parlour into an ice-cream parlour and used it as brothel. The accused in the case included the former mayors of the Kozhikode Corporation T.P. Dasan and O. Rajagopal, and Aravindakshan, driver of the IUML general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty.

The Director-General of Prosecution and the counsel for Ms Ajitha contended that the trial court committed an error in not eliciting the truth from the witnesses who turned hostile during the trial. The prosecutor at the session court had not discharged his duty in eliciting the truth from the witnesses. They pleaded that a re-trial be ordered in the case. The counsel for the accused submitted the verdict was passed based on evidence.

Dismissing the appeal and the petition, the High Court observed that the trial court could not be faulted for concluding that the prosecution had not succeeded in proving the case against any of the accused. The court observed that after fully participating in the trial, the stand now taken by the revision petitioner and the State government against the public prosecutor was “not sustainable”. The judge also found that the view of the trial judge that there was no “defective investigation” in the case was justified.

The court observed: “On an appreciation of the entire evidence, the court finds no ground to interfere with the findings of the trial court.” The DGP and the senior counsel for the revision petitioner had not pointed out any specific instance to show that the trial conducted by the sessions court was “vitiated”.

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