Challenging the acquittal of the four men involved in the mysterious death of her two minor daughters in 2017, the mother approached the Kerala High Court on Tuesday, to reverse the judgment by the Palakkad sessions court. The High Court accepted the appeal against the acquittal of two men named in the case.
The 13-year-old girl was found dead in their one-room shed on January 13, 2017. Two months later, her nine-year-old sister, too, was found dead in the same manner on March 4, 2017. It was after the death of the second girl that five men, including a juvenile, were charged with rape, sexual assault and abetment to suicide, barring charges of murder. And in the absence of direct or circumstantial evidence, the Palakkad sessions court acquitted the four men of all offences against them.
Two appeals have been filed against orders acquitting Pradeep Kumar (in the death of the nine-year-old) as well as V Madhu (in the death of the 13-year-old). The four more appeals — against the acquittal of Pradeep (in the death of 13-year-old), V Madhu (in the death of nine-year-old), Shibu and K Madhu (in the death of 13-year-old) — will be filed on Thursday.
Speaking to TNM, CP Udayabhanu, the lawyer representing the mother, said she has stated three points in her appeals. “One, the court has been a silent umpire to the proceedings initiated by the prosecutor. Two, the prosecutor was not fair enough to produce all relevant input in favour of the deceased. Three, the investigating team also failed to unearth the truth in these cases.”
The death of the sisters left many in Kerala in a state of shock. With the acquittal of the four men by the trial court, the outrage intensified in the state. The Kerala police were criticised for lapses in the investigation, which had led to a weak case in court. The public prosecutor could not present incriminating evidence against the men in the court. Witnesses and the postmortem reports of the two minors, which stated sexual assault, too, were discredited. As a result, the case fell through and the men walked free.
In October, the parents of the girls had approached Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Incidentally, the law does not allow reinvestigation on the same charges once a person has been acquitted or convicted.
At the Assembly session, CM Pinarayi Vijayan had stated that the government will file an appeal for re-trial in the case.
Kerala Pulayar Mahasabha leader Punnala Sreekumar, who had accompanied the parents to meet the CM, had told the media that the government will support the parents’ petition for the re-trial, and will become a party in the case.
After accepting the mother’s appeal, the court issued notice to the accused as well as the state government. The hearing of the mother’s appeal is likely to commence by mid-December or the first week of January 2020.
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Watch: How the Walayar sisters’ cases were botched up