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Tuesday, Feb 19, 2008
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State appeal dismissed

Legal Correspondent

Kozhikode sex scandal case

State had challenged acquittal of the accused
State contended that the High Court ruling was illegal

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed at the admission stage itself an appeal filed by the Kerala government challenging the acquittal of all 16 accused in the Kozhikode ice-cream parlour sex scandal case.

A Bench of Justice B.N. Agrawal and Justice G.S. Singhvi dismissed the petition after hearing the State counsel. The appeal filed by Anweshi president K. Ajitha against the same judgment is due to come up for further hearing on April 15.

The case dates back to 1996. The prosecution case was that Sreedevi, first accused, who earlier ran 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 a brothel. The accused in the case included the former Mayors of the Kozhikode Corporation T.P. Dasan and O. Rajagopal, and Aravindakshan, driver of Indian Union Muslim League State general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty.

The High Court had upheld the trial court’s verdict which concluded that the prosecution had not succeeded in proving the case against any of the accused. The present appeal by Kerala is directed against this judgment dated November 15, 2007.

In its special leave petition (SLP), Kerala said that since there was no fair trial, the High court judgment was manifestly illegal. It said “this is a case where the prosecution witnesses themselves were petrified and paralysed because they were under the control of the then government having intimate close association and affiliation with the accused in the case.”

The SLP said “time has become ripe to act on account of numerous experience faced by trial court on account of frequent turning of witnesses as hostile due to threat, coercion, lures and monetary consideration at the instance of those in power and their political influence.”

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