Navy officers move high court to quash case against them

KOCHI: Two of the naval officers, named by a naval lieutenant's wife in a police complaint to have gang-raped her, have approached the Kerala high court seeking to quash the case against them.
The case is related to an allegation by a naval officer's wife that 'wife-swapping' and gang rape by colleagues and senior officers took place at Southern Naval Command in Kochi.
In the petition filed by commodore Anand Balakrishnan and Ajay Jayakrishnan, it is contended that registration of criminal case against them is illegal "as there are no references at all to any part played by the petitioners."
The naval officers argue that the wife had filed two complaints with the Navy, but the commodore was not named. However, the commodore was named in the complaint to the police later, which is contradictory, the petition filed to the high court through advocate S M Prasanth, said. It was found in the initial investigation by Navy, following the wife's complaint, that the allegations against naval officers, including the wife of a senior officer, were frivolous, the petition stated.
Three days ago, the high court had declined anticipatory bail to lieutenant Ravi Kiran Kabdaula, husband of the complainant, citing the serious nature of the alleged crime. The court had severely criticized the police for booking the naval officers for assaulting a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, and not for gang rape.
Citing the woman's complaint to police, the court's order on bail application had named lieutenants Ajay Krishnan, Ishwar Chandra, and Deepak Kumar as well as captain Ashok Aukte and commodore B Anand. Name of one of the petitioners in the present plea to high court is Ajay Jayakrishnan, while the court's order gave the name as Ajay Krishnan.
Citing reasons for quashing the case, the petition said, "Significantly one of the petitioners, namely Lt. Ajay Jayakrishnan was not in Kochi, as will be borne out by records and yet his name has been dragged in the complaint."
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Kochi: Two of the naval officers named by a naval lieutenant's wife in a police complaint to have gang-raped her have approached the Kerala High Court seeking to quash the case against them.
The case relates to allegation by a navy wife that 'wife-swapping' and gang rape by colleagues and senior officers took place at Southern Naval Command in Kochi.
In the petition filed by commodore Anand Balakrishnan and Ajay Jayakrishnan, it is contended that registration of the criminal case against them is illegal "as there are no references at all to any part played by the petitioners."
The naval officers argue that the wife had filed two complaints within the Navy but the commodore was not named. However, the commodore was named in the petition to police later, which is contradictory, the petition filed to the high court through advocate SM Prasanth said.
It was found in the initial investigation by Navy, following the wife's complaint, that the allegations against naval officers, including the wife of a senior officer, were frivolous, the petition states.
Three days ago, the high court had declined anticipatory bail to lieutenant Ravi Kiran Kabdaula, the husband officer, citing the serious nature of the alleged crime. The court had severely criticized the police for not booking the naval officers for gang rape but on the charge of assaulting a woman with intent to outrage modesty of a woman.
Citing the woman's complaint to police, the court's order on bail application had named lieutenants Ajay Krishnan, Ishwar Chandra, and Deepak Kumar as well as captain Ashok Aukte and commodore B Anand.
Name of one of the petitioners in the present plea to high court is Ajay Jayakrishnan, while the court's order named Ajay Krishnan.
Citing reasons for quashing the case, the petition said, "Significantly one of the petitioners, namely Lt. Ajay Jayakrishnan was not in Kochi at all as will be borne out by records and yet his name has been dragged in the complaint."