2017 Actress Assault Case: Kerala HC Notice to Actor Dileep, Others on Govt Appeal

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday sought the response of actor Dileep and nine others on an appeal filed by the state government challenging the trial court's judgment in the sensational 2017 actress sexual assault case.The High Court admitted the appeal, in which the state has challenged the acquittal of Dileep and three others in the case and also sought enhancement of the punishment awarded to the six people sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting the actress.

A bench of justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Jobin Sebastian issued notice to the six persons sentenced in the case and the four who were acquitted by the trial court, a government lawyer associated with the case said.

Apart from Dileep, the eighth accused in the case, the trial court had also acquitted three others -- Charley Thomas (A7), Sanil Kumar alias Mesthri Sanil (A9) and Sarath (A15).

The trial court had convicted the first six accused in the case -- Sunil N S also known as Pulsar Suni, Martin Antony, Manikandan B, Vijesh V P, Salim H, and Pradeep.

The appeal has claimed that the acquittal of Dileep and the others was "wholly illegal and unmerited and the same gives a wrong message to the society".

It has urged the High Court to set aside the acquittal of Dileep and the others and to hold them guilty of the offences for which the first six accused were convicted and sentenced to 20 years.

It claimed that while the trial court rightly found the first six accused in the case as guilty of the various offences charged against them, "it has miserably failed to impose adequate sentence of imprisonment and fine upon them.

The state has urged the High Court to enhance the sentence of imprisonment and fine imposed on the first six accused, in respect of the offences for which they have been found guilty, as deemed fit and proper "by taking into consideration the nature and seriousness of the crime committed by them and the trauma and sufferings undergone by the victim and the fear it created in the society".

According to the prosecution, the eighth accused (Dileep) conspired with the first accused (Sunil) and instructed him to commit sexual assault on PW1 (victim) and to capture her nude visuals, as he was harbouring enmity and vengeance against her.

There were initially 15 accused in the case of whom three were granted pardon and examined as witnesses and two others were discharged by the Kerala High Court with the remaining 10 facing trial in the case.

The 2017 assault on a multi-lingual actress, in which miscreants forced their way into her moving car on February 17 and held her captive for two hours, profoundly shook the conscience of Kerala society.

Prime accused Pulsar Suni sexually assaulted the actress and video recorded the act with the help of the other convicted persons in the moving car.

Actor Dileep, who was accused of conspiring in the crime, was arrested during the investigation.

However, after a near six-year trial, the court found him not guilty.