The Kerala government will soon file an appeal before the High Court challenging actor Dileep’s acquittal in the 2017 actress sexual assault case. The state will also question the sentences awarded to six convicted accused after the court vacation ends.
Kochi: The Kerala government has decided to file an appeal against the verdict in the 2017 actress sexual assault case. The appeal will challenge both the acquittal of actor Dileep and the punishment given to six other accused persons.
Sources confirmed on Tuesday that the state government has already given approval for filing the appeal.
According to sources from the office of the Director General of Prosecution, the government has formally cleared the move to challenge the judgment passed by the Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Court. The appeal will be filed before the Kerala High Court after the Christmas vacation ends.
Special Public Prosecutor V Aja Kumar, who handled the case for the state, confirmed the development while speaking to PTI.
He said,
“Though I have not yet received a copy of the government order, I have been informed that approval has been granted. Hence, we will be able to file the appeal once the court vacation is over.”
He further explained that he had already submitted a detailed legal report after carefully studying the judgment. According to Kumar, this report was first sent to the Director General of Prosecution and later forwarded to the Kerala government for approval.
Kumar said,
“The government has taken a clear stand that no time should be wasted in filing the appeal. I have examined the judgment in detail and prepared the grounds for appeal,”
He also made it clear that the state government is not satisfied with the punishment awarded by the trial court. He stated that the appeal will question the sentences given to the six convicted accused, including the main accused Pulsar Suni, who was awarded 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.
Kumar said,
“Similarly, we will challenge the verdict acquitting the eighth accused and three others. The trial court relied on the testimonies of around 60 witnesses to convict six accused, but rejected the same evidence while acquitting the remaining accused,”
The Ernakulam court had earlier acquitted actor Dileep and three other accused, while convicting six persons in the case. The survivor had openly expressed her disappointment with the verdict through social media posts soon after the judgment was pronounced.
The case relates to a shocking incident that took place in February 2017. The actress was abducted and sexually assaulted while she was travelling from Thrissur to Ernakulam after completing a film shoot.
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The crime was allegedly recorded on a mobile phone inside a moving vehicle, making it one of the most disturbing criminal cases in the state.
Actor Dileep was arrested during the investigation on charges of conspiracy related to the crime. Although the trial court later acquitted him, the Kerala government’s decision to appeal signals that the legal battle in the high-profile actress assault case is far from over.
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