Suryanelli case: SC notice to Kerala govt

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Kerala Government on a batch of appeals filed by 16 of the 24 convicts, challenging their conviction and varying jail terms in the Suryanelli gangrape case.

A bench led by Justice S J Mukhopadhaya sought replies from the state police while observing that the materials on record prima facie appeared sufficient for the charges and that nothing seemed wrong with the Kerala High Court’s April 4 judgment.

The HC had confirmed the life sentence of one convict while different periods of imprisonment were awarded to 23. Dharmarajan, who was awarded life term, is yet to challenge his conviction. The 16-year-old girl from Suryanelli  was kidnapped in January 1996 and sexually assaulted for over 40 days.