Malayalam actor Dileep who is the eighth accused in an assault case withdrew his discharge petition filed in the Supreme Court. He informed the court that he was withdrawing the petition as the trial in the assault case was in the final stage. A female actor in the Malayalam film industry was abducted and sexually assaulted in February 2017. Dileep was accused of masterminding the plan and paying a contract amount to the people who carried out the crime.
Over the years, Dileep has made several attempts to delay the trial in the case and has approached various courts with different petitions. In early 2020, a sessions court in Ernakulam and later the Kerala High Court had dismissed his petition asking to discharge him from the trial..Dileep had later gone to the Supreme Court.
A lawyer who has been closely following the case told TNM that Dileep must have withdrawn the discharge petition as a dismissal at this stage could impact the trial of the case, especially if the court went into the merits of the case.
Another lawyer told TNM that other than adverse comments that could have been made by the Supreme Court, this may also have been to create an impression that he did not want to create any more obstacles in the case.
The trial is in the last stages at the Additional Sessions (CBI special No III) Court in Ernakulam. The trial had seen many controversies and the latest was in January 2021 when the Public Prosecutor in the case quit. The Public Prosecutor A Suresan had written to the Kerala High Court saying that he has lost faith in the impartiality of the judge, Justice Honey Varghese. The Kerala High Court refused to however transfer the case to a different court. Following this the Public Prosecutor quit the case.