A Kerala court has acquitted Malayalam actor Dileep in the 2017 actress abduction and assault case, while convicting prime accused Pulsar Suni and five others for gang rape and related offences. Sentencing is scheduled for December 12.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
KERALA: In a major judgment that has dominated national attention for eight years, the Kerala Principal District and Sessions Court on Monday acquitted Malayalam actor Dileep in the 2017 abduction and sexual assault case involving a well-known actress. Judge Honey M Varghese delivered the verdict.
While Dileep and three other accused were acquitted, the court convicted six men, including the main accused Sunil NS (Pulsar Suni), for gang rape, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, and outraging the modesty of a woman. Sentencing will be announced on December 12.
ALSO READ: 2017 Malayalam Actress Assault Case: Kerala Court to Pronounce Verdict on Dec 8
The Court held Pulsar Suni, along with Martin Antony, Manikandan B, Vijeesh VP, Salim H alias Vadival Salim, and Pradeep, guilty of the offences. The Court also confirmed guilt under Sections 66E and 67A of the Information Technology Act, relating to the recording and electronic transmission of explicit content, as the accused had filmed the assault while it was taking place in a moving vehicle.
Among those acquitted were actor Dileep, who had been charged with allegedly masterminding the crime, alongside Charlie Thomas, Sanilkumar alias Mesthiri Sanil, and Sarath G Nair. The prosecution’s narrative suggested that Dileep conspired to orchestrate the attack as revenge, but the Court held that the evidence produced during the trial failed to substantiate the conspiracy theory beyond a reasonable doubt.
Background
The case remains one of the most closely watched in Kerala’s legal and cinematic history. Malayalam cine actor Dileep is one of the 10 accused and has been charged with allegedly conspiring to abduct and sexually assault a fellow actress.
The incident occurred on February 17, 2017, when the survivor, a popular actress who has worked across Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu cinema, was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted inside a moving vehicle in Kochi for nearly two hours. She filed a complaint the same night, leading to the arrest of multiple suspects, including the prime accused, Pulsar Suni.
In July 2017, investigations pointed to a conspiracy behind the assault, resulting in the arrest of Dileep. He was later named the eighth accused in the charge sheet.
The trial officially began on January 30, 2020, and has been marred by twists and prolonged litigation, including:
- Allegations of evidence tampering
- Hostile witnesses
- Multiple petitions before the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court
- Accusations of deliberate attempts to delay proceedings
Special Judge Honey M Varghese presided over the trial. Though the survivor and the state government filed petitions to replace the judge, citing perceived bias, the Supreme Court dismissed the pleas, allowing her to continue.
More than 200 witnesses testified, and the case involved extensive forensic analysis of digital evidence. All accused have been booked under major IPC sections, including:
- 120B – Criminal conspiracy
- 366 – Kidnapping
- 376D – Gang rape
along with provisions of the Information Technology Act.
In September 2024, the Supreme Court granted bail to Pulsar Suni, remarking that the trial had already taken too long.
Beyond the courtroom, the case exposed systemic misogyny and lack of institutional safeguards within the Malayalam film industry. Public outrage led to the rise of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) and the formation of the Hema Committee in 2019 to investigate:
- Workplace harassment
- Gender discrimination
- Absence of redressal mechanisms for women in cinema
Although the committee submitted its report in 2019, it was released to the public only on August 19, 2024, after a legal battle. The heavily redacted report still triggered a fresh wave of testimonies and #MeToo disclosures in Kerala’s entertainment industry.
ALSO READ: Kerala High Court Upholds Bail Granted to Dileep in Actress Assault Case
Investigation and Trial Progress
The accused actor Dileep was arrested in July 2017 and remained in custody for 83 days before the Kerala High Court granted him bail in October of the same year. Over the course of the trial, which spanned nearly 8 years, more than 200 witnesses were examined and several supplementary charge sheets were filed. One accused, named Vishnu, turned approver, while Vipin Lal BL and Aneesh PK were pardoned and testified as prosecution witnesses. Two other accused, Advocate Pratheesh Chacko and his assistant Raju Joseph, were discharged during the trial.
Read More Reports On Actress Assault Case
