Kozhikode ice cream parlour sex scandal: SC dismisses plea

Supreme Court yesterday dismissed a plea of former Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan seeking CBI probe into the Kozhikode ice cream parlour sex scandal, saying it would not become a party to "political battles where people have political vendetta and rivalries".

 

It asked the CPM leader to approach the trial court with his grievances about investigation and closure report filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

 

"Supreme Court won't become a party to political battles where people have political vendetta and rivalries. If you have any grievances about the probe and the report filed by the SIT, you can raise it before Magistrate and High Court," a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice D Y Chandrachud said.

 

Senior advocate K K Venugopal appearing for Kerala government said Achuthanandan's plea was politically motivated.

 

The bench said a proper way or procedures needed to be followed which cannot be scuttled.

 

The apex court had in 2013 sought response from Kerala government and others on a plea of the veteran CPM leader seeking a CBI probe into the Kozhikode ice cream parlour sex scandal whose accusations first surfaced in 1997.

 

Achuthanandan had alleged that criminal justice had been subverted in a systematic manner in this case that can be rectified by only ordering an independent probe.

 

The Kerala High Court had dismissed his plea seeking a CBI probe in the case allegedly involving Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty.

 

Achuthanandan had approached the high court stating that the probe following fresh disclosures made in 2011 by K A Rauf, a close relative of Kunhalikutty, was not done properly and hence only a CBI probe could bring out the truth.

 

The high court had however noted that even though the court was not going into the details of the investigation, from what had been pointed out on the lapses in the probe, it appeared to be grave and the petitioner could approach the magistrate's court if he had any grievances.

 

The alleged sex racket in the early 1990s involved an ice-cream parlour in Kozhikode as its base which had led the media to flag it as the "ice cream parlour sex case". The parlour was allegedly used as a cover for running the sex scandal.

 

The case has since then been vigorously taken up by Achuthanandan and was dismissed by the Supreme Court which gave a clean chit to Kunhalikutty, an Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader, in 2006.

 

Though Kunhalikutty never became an accused in the case, he had come under the cloud in the wake of the scandal and even had to quit the ministry then.