Actor abduction case: Dileep's delaying tactics fail, trial to start on Mar 14

Actor Dileep’s tactic to delay the trial in the actor abduction and sexual assault case failed after the Kerala High Court on Monday said that the trial cannot be postponed.

The HC made the observation while considering a petition filed by eighth accused Dileep, who sought to delay the trial proceedings which are scheduled to begin on March 14. In his revision petition (on the earlier HC petition seeking access to assault visuals) filed on Friday, Dileep argued that he did not receive the assault visuals from the police, a crucial evidence in the case.

The survivor was abducted and allegedly sexually assaulted in her car while she was travelling from Thrissur to Kochi in February 2017. Dileep, in his petition, also argued that he was not in receipt of several other documents that are supposed to be handed over to him before trial.

Although the court stated that the trial proceedings at the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court cannot be delayed, it sought an explanation from the state government. The court has posted the hearing of the petition for March 21.

Dileep had moved the HC in February asking for the assault visuals, after his plea for the same was rejected by the Angamaly Magistrate Court. The police strongly objected to the assault visuals being handed over to Dileep, who is seen as an influential person in the Malayalam film industry. They maintained that Dileep was likely to use the visuals to demean the survivor. According to the police, these were all vital evidence in the case, and the privacy of the victim was also to be taken into consideration.

However, as per the court's direction in February, the police handed over CCTV visuals of the survivor's car being driven from Thrissur to Kochi.

Dileep first moved court in January to access the visuals of the assault. His argument was that a woman's voice could be heard in the assault visuals, and that SIT did not probe whose voice it was.

The Ernakulam Principal Sessions court sent a summons to all the 12 accused in the case, directing them to appear before the court on Wednesday.