24 suryanelli convicts still enjoy freedom
Suryanelli, a16-year-old girl was sexually assaulted for around 40 days by several men in 1996
By : rohit raj
Update: 2014-05-04 05:06 GMT
kochi: Although one month has passed since the landmark judgment in the Suryanelli case convicting 24 accused, they are roaming free due to the delay in filing the high court order in the trial court. The police are yet to receive the arrest warrant so as to cancel their bail. The high court registry is yet to issue the signed copy of the judgment to the special court.
As per the normal procedure, the court order will be sent to the trial court and the trial court will cancel the bail given to the accused. A section of advocates says that advocates can purposefully delay the issuance of the order by influencing the court staff.
“The situation points to the lapses of the administrative wing of the high court. Even in a sensational case like Suryanelli, the authorities concerned are inordinately delaying the service of the verdict.” Since it is an important case, the judges who delivered the verdict would have signed it and handed it over to the registry. So the administrative wing should be blamed for the delay, said advocate Kaleeswaram Raj.