The Kerala High Court on Thursday criticised actor Dileep, who is named accused in the 2017 actor assault case. The criticism was against the actor’s attempt to delay the trial proceedings by submitting a plea against the court’s order which asked that the case trial is wrapped up in the next six months.
The High Court asked why the accused wanted to delay the case. It also reportedly stated that the ‘cat which was trapped had been let out.’
Last week, the Kerala High Court had ordered that the trial proceedings in the 2017 actor assault case be completed within the next six months. The High Court also accepted the survivor’s petition that the case is heard by a woman judge and appointed justice Honey M Varghese to hear the case. A counter petition was also filed by the accused actor Dileep in the case, asking why a special consideration was given in this case when several sexual assault cases were heard by male judges. The petition was rejected by the High Court. The court had also rejected the bail plea of accused number 2 - Martin - who was the driver of the survivor.
Meanwhile, actor Dileep’s petition in the Supreme Court asking for a copy of the visuals of the assault is still pending. During the last two hearings, Dileep’s lawyer had asked for an adjournment claiming that he was too busy to attend the case. As a result, it is unclear if the trial proceedings will begin now.
Previously, the Kerala High Court in February had asked for the case to be disposed of within the next nine months, before changing it to six months.
In February 2017, a prominent Malayalam woman actor was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving car while she was travelling from Thrissur to Kochi.
Actor Dileep has been accused of masterminding the assault. In the chargsheet filed against the accused, it stated that Dileep held a grudge against the survivor and that he had hired people including Pulsar Suni - prime accused in the case - to assault the actor, record the act and use it to blackmail her later.
Dileep, an influential actor in the Malayalam industry, has also been accused of trying to delay the case.