The Additional Special CBI Court in Ernakulam, which considered the pretrial proceedings in the Kerala actor assault case on Saturday, adjourned the hearing to December 3. The case dates back to February 2017, when a leading Malayalam female actor was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving vehicle in Kochi.
Eight out of 10 accused persons in the case, including Pulsar Suni — the prime and first accused in the case — were present in the court on Saturday. However, Malayalam actor Dileep, accused of being the mastermind behind the attack on the survivor, was absent during the court proceedings.
Justice Honey M Varghese accepted the bail petitions of five accused, including Pulsar Suni's. “The bail petitions will also be considered on December 3,” she added.
The judge also expressed displeasure over the absence of the ninth accused, Sanal Kumar, who was out on bail but did not appear in the court without giving a proper explanation.
After hearing the arguments of the defence counsel, which was supposed to happen on Saturday, the charges against the accused will be framed. The accused will then be tried based on these charges.
The Supreme Court had earlier put a stay on the hearing after Dileep approached the apex court, requesting a copy of the memory card that contains video clippings of the assault. The Supreme Court had stayed the case to clarify technicalities involved in deciding whether the memory card was to be treated as a document or material object. On Friday, after about six months, the SC finally rejected the actor's plea, stating that he cannot be handed over the copy of visuals considering the possible effect on the survivor. He, however, has been granted permission to view the content.
Ever since Dileep came out on bail in the case after serving 85 days in jail, there has been a constant effort to delay the commencement of trial proceedings. When the Angamaly Magistrate Court rejected his petition to access the copy of memory card, he kept approaching the higher courts, thus delaying the proceedings.
The Supreme Court, which rejected the plea on Friday, has also given directions that the trial proceedings in the case should be completed within six months without any delay.