Kottayam: With Director General of Prosecution (DGP) T. Asif Ali advising the State government against a reinvestigation into the role of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien in the Suryanelli rape case, the choices before the victim are narrowing down to taking the battle to the High Court. Legal advisers to the victim, speaking to The Hindu on Monday said they would file a writ petition in the High Court.
The DGP’s advice comes in the wake of the girl approaching her local police station at Chingavanom, near here, seeking to register a fresh FIR for further investigation in her private complaint of 1999. The girl had cited the ‘fresh evidences’ that had cropped up in the case, pointing to a statement made by third accused S. Dharmarajan in a TV interview.
The police had refused her demand and instead sought legal advice on the matter. With this move receiving a setback with Monday’s advice by the DGP, the girl now would have no other option but to approach the High Court with a plea to direct the government to proceed in her complaint.
According to advocate Suresh Babu Thomas, who was the public prosecutor at the special court (which tried the case), the girl can approach the High Court with a writ petition seeking a directive to the government to proceed with her plea. The case would be filed shortly, he said.
She has, in the meantime, approached the district police chiefs of Idukki and Kottayam with copies of her complaint and informed them of the refusal of the local police to register a case.
Meanwhile, the girl and her advisers are making a parallel move by approaching the political leadership of the State seeking to get advocates Suresh Babu Thomas and C.S. Ajayan as public prosecutors when the appeal in the Suryanelli case comes up for hearing in the High Court.