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The Kerala government, on Friday, February 27, moved an appeal in the Kerala High Court challenging the trial court verdict on the Kerala actor assault case that acquitted Malayalam actor Dileep and convicted six others.
The verdict was pronounced on December 8 2025. The Principal District and Session Court judge Honey M Varghese, convicted six persons, Pulsar Suni, Martin Antony, B Manikandan, Vijeesh VP, Salim H alias Vadival Salim, and Pradeep, for abducting and sexually assaulting the actor. The court however acquitted Dileep, the eighth accused, who had been charged with masterminding the crime.
As per reports, the government has sought enhanced punishment for the six convicts whose prison term had been lessened by the trial court. The court had sentenced the six accused persons to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment. In the plea, the government said that the trial court failed to consider digital evidence in the case.
Nearly a week after the verdict, the survivor issued a statement criticising the way in which the case was handled by the trial court. In a social media post, she wrote, “Not every citizen in this country is treated equally before the law,” calling it her painful realisation after years of pain, tears, and emotional struggle. In a statement, she also listed six reasons why she lost faith in the trial court and also said her fundamental rights were not protected.
Later, Malayalam actor Manju Warrier declared her support for the survivor, and stated that the “mind enabled this act still walks free”, and that justice will be complete only when everyone behind this crime is held accountable.
Earlier, two other convicts in the case had approached the HC, challenging the punishment awarded by the trial court. Of them, Pulsar Suni sought the setting aside of the 20-year sentence, mentioning he has already undergone eight years of imprisonment.