Actor Dileep, who is one of the accused in the Kerala actor abduction and assault case, has managed to delay the hearing in the case yet again. The hearing initially scheduled for February 27, i.e Wednesday has been postponed after Dileep’s counsel Mukul Rohatgi informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday morning that due to personal reasons, he will not be able to appear on the given date. The Supreme Court, which is hearing Dileep’s plea to obtain a physical copy of the video visual recording of the sexual assault of the actor who was assaulted in February 2017, has adjourned the matter to March 13.
According to sources, Dileep is likely to challenge the Kerala High Court’s recent order appointing a woman judge to hear the abduction and assault case, which is allegedly why Dileep’s counsel has asked for more time. Kerala High Court Justice V Raja Vijayaraghavan announced in open court on Monday that special CBI judge Honey M Varghese will be hearing the case.
This is not the first time Dileep has tried to delay hearing in the case. He has moved multiple courts for various reasons – claiming he does not have access to some documents, then seeking his passport to travel, even seeking a CBI inquiry into the case – just to delay the trial from taking place.
During the last hearing, which was held in January 2018, both Dileep’s counsel and the government lawyer had cited that they were indisposed to appear for the hearing on the day it had been listed, which was January 22. The case had then been adjourned by four weeks.
The incident was reported in February 2017 and Dileep was named in the case as an accused five months later, in July. Since his arrest in July 2017 and the subsequent bail granted to him 85 days later, Dileep has been making attempts to gain access to evidence in the case, including the visuals of the attack.
He first moved the Angamaly Magistrate Court which had denied him access to the visuals, after which he moved the Kerala High Court. The Kerala High Court dismissed his petition on August 14, 2018. The prosecution had strongly argued against handing over the visuals citing the survivor's right to privacy.
Dileep then moved the Supreme Court on December 2018 seeking access to the visuals. In his plea to the SC, Dileep stated he has a right to get evidence relating to the case which included the memory card in which the attack visuals have been stored. The actor in his plea, also stated that the visuals have been doctored to deliberately trap him and he needs to access them to prove his innocence.
Dileep is accused of masterminding the assault and for hiring Pulsar Suni, who is the prime accused in the case to carry out the crime. The survivor was abducted and assaulted in February 2017 while she was travelling to Kochi from Thrissur.