The trial proceedings in the 2017 actor assault case in Kerala has been delayed yet again, after the Kerala state government has agreed to not frame charges against actor Dileep and the other accused, till Dileep's petition seeking visuals of the assault, is disposed off by the Supreme Court. Dileep had approached the Supreme Court last year asking for a copy of the visuals of the attack. His lawyers later told the Supreme Court that the trial which is about to begin in Additional CBI Court in Ernakulam district should be stayed.
The state government on Tuesday told the top court that it will relay this decision to the trial court by Wednesday. The statement by the prosecution was recorded in the order issued by the court.
It was in December 2018 that the actor, who is accused of masterminding the sexual assault, approached the apex court asking for a copy of the visuals of the assault stored in a memory card. Dileep’s counsel Mukul Rohtagi argued that the visuals were doctored to deliberately frame the actor and they had the right to access the ‘document’ to prove the accused’s innocence. Dileep went to SC after both the sessions court and the Kerala High Court turned down Dileep’s plea to get the copy of the assault visuals.
Meanwhile, the trial proceedings which were to begin in the Additional CBI court in Ernakulam on April 10, will be delayed till the apex court adjudicates on the actor’s petition seeking the memory card.
“The trial court has on April 10 asked for the accused to be present in order to pose charges in the case. However, with this development the trial will be further delayed. The main concern here is that the Kerala High Court had asked for the trial to be completed within 6 months. However, with the state government agreeing to wait and the SC recording this in its order, the Kerala High Court’s order will no longer be a concern,” a source in the Supreme Court told TNM.
Over the last 2 years, Dileep - who stands 8th accused in the case, has filed 13 petitions in different courts with various demands. Apart from seeking the visuals of the attack, Dileep had demanded a CBI investigation into the case accusing the state police of biased against him.