<p>Upholding a lower court order, Kerala High Court today sentenced prime accused Dharmarajan to life imprisonment, while acquitting seven others in the sensational Suriyanelli rape case.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Of the 35 accused in the case, five had died during the pendency of trial.<br /><br />While Dharmarajan was sentenced to life, the remaining were sentenced to varying terms of rigorous imprisonment up to 13 years and fine by a division bench, comprising justices K T Sankaran and M L Joseph Francis, which delivered the judgement on separate appeals filed by the accused.<br /><br />For default of sentence, the accused would have to undergo an additional three months RI.<br /><br />The case relates to the abduction and sexual exploitation of a minor girl from Suriyanelli in Kerala's high range Idukki district by several persons in 1996.<br /><br />The bench rejected the plea of the accused that the victim was 'deviant', and that she could have escaped during her captivity.<br /><br />The judges said there was no embellishing in the evidence of the victim which runs to 598 pages and it was totally accepted.<br /><br />"There are materials to show that her evidence is true. She was mercilessly and brutally raped," the court held.<br /><br />Dharamarajan, Raju, bus conductor and first accused and second accused Usha procured her and she was subjected to rape by other accused, the court held.<br />Dharmarajan, who had been absconding, was later arrested.<br /><br />While the trial court had convicted all the accused on charges of rape, gangrape and kidnapping, the High Court had acquitted all but one.<br /><br />On an appeal filed by the state government and the victim, the Supreme Court had ordered the High Court to consider afresh the appeal filed by the accused.<br /><br />The prosecution case was that the girl, who was studying in school, was enticed, abducted and sexually exploited by a bus conductor on January 16, 1996.<br /><br />The girl was later handover to two others, including the prime accused, Dharmarajan, a lawyer. She was then taken to various places and raped by many persons, before she was released after being in captivity for 40 days.</p>
<p>Upholding a lower court order, Kerala High Court today sentenced prime accused Dharmarajan to life imprisonment, while acquitting seven others in the sensational Suriyanelli rape case.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Of the 35 accused in the case, five had died during the pendency of trial.<br /><br />While Dharmarajan was sentenced to life, the remaining were sentenced to varying terms of rigorous imprisonment up to 13 years and fine by a division bench, comprising justices K T Sankaran and M L Joseph Francis, which delivered the judgement on separate appeals filed by the accused.<br /><br />For default of sentence, the accused would have to undergo an additional three months RI.<br /><br />The case relates to the abduction and sexual exploitation of a minor girl from Suriyanelli in Kerala's high range Idukki district by several persons in 1996.<br /><br />The bench rejected the plea of the accused that the victim was 'deviant', and that she could have escaped during her captivity.<br /><br />The judges said there was no embellishing in the evidence of the victim which runs to 598 pages and it was totally accepted.<br /><br />"There are materials to show that her evidence is true. She was mercilessly and brutally raped," the court held.<br /><br />Dharamarajan, Raju, bus conductor and first accused and second accused Usha procured her and she was subjected to rape by other accused, the court held.<br />Dharmarajan, who had been absconding, was later arrested.<br /><br />While the trial court had convicted all the accused on charges of rape, gangrape and kidnapping, the High Court had acquitted all but one.<br /><br />On an appeal filed by the state government and the victim, the Supreme Court had ordered the High Court to consider afresh the appeal filed by the accused.<br /><br />The prosecution case was that the girl, who was studying in school, was enticed, abducted and sexually exploited by a bus conductor on January 16, 1996.<br /><br />The girl was later handover to two others, including the prime accused, Dharmarajan, a lawyer. She was then taken to various places and raped by many persons, before she was released after being in captivity for 40 days.</p>