Actor assault case: Kerala HC admits appeals by State, convicts

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The appeals moved by the State and the convicted persons in the actor assault case were admitted by the Kerala High Court on Thursday.

The State’s plea was to enhance the punishments imposed on the convicts, including Sunil N.S., alias Pulsar Suni. Four of the six convicts had applied for suspension of sentence, and both appeals were considered together by the Division Bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and K.V. Jayakumar.

The State had filed a petition challenging the acquittal of some of the accused, including actor Dileep, in February this year.

The Ernakulam Sessions Court had convicted six accused and awarded each one 20 years’ imprisonment on two counts of gang rape, 10 years’ imprisonment for assault and use of criminal force on a woman with the intent to disrobe her, and one-year simple imprisonment for wrongful confinement. It was found that the accused had also committed the offence of destruction of evidence and taking and distributing obscene images.

The High Court will consider the applications of the convicts for suspension of sentence next week. Another petition filed by the survivor seeking an investigation into the alleged tampering with of the memory card, a crucial piece of evidence in the case, is pending before the High Court.