Suryanelli case: Sessions Court in Kerala dismisses petition filed by victim, seeks inclusion of P J Kurien

In Kerala, the Sessions Court at Thodupuzha in Idukki district today dismissed a petition filed by the victim of the Suryanelli case, seeking the inclusion of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Prof P J Kurien in the case. Dismissing the complaint, the court noted that the victim’s plea for the inclusion of Prof Kurien was not maintainable. It noted that grounds of the petition were already examined by the Kerala High Court, which dismissed her complaint on similar grounds in 2007.

The victim had filed the revision petition based on the revelations made to a TV channel by Dharmarajan, the lone person convicted in the case. Dharmarajan had claimed that he had taken Prof Kurien to a guest house where the girl was lodged. He later retracted the statement in an affidavit filed in the sessions court, claiming that he gave the interview in an inebriated state.