The Kerala High Court on Tuesday, July 14 refused to suspend the sentence of Pulsar Suni, an accused in the 2017 actor assault case.
Dismissing Suni’s plea, a division bench comprising comprising Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar said, “Having regard to the role attributed to the applicant, the nature of the offence, the manner in which it was committed, the gravity and seriousness of the crime, the sentence imposed by the trial court, the criminal antecedents of the applicant in as many as 11 grave crimes, his alleged involvement in another criminal case while he was on bail in the present case, and his violation of the conditions of bail imposed by the court, we are of the considered view that no exceptional circumstance has been made out warranting the suspension of the sentence.”
On December 8 last year, the Principal District and Sessions Court, Ernakulam, had sentenced six accused, including Suni, to 20 years imprisonment in the case. It had also acquitted actor Dileep, who had been arraigned as the eighth accused and was alleged to have conspired in commissioning the offence.
After hearing Suni’s plea for suspension of his sentence, on July 9, the court had reserved its decision. Suni was represented in court by senior advocate Sasthamangalam S Ajithkumar. Special public prosecutor (SPP) V Aja Kumar appeared on behalf of the state, with advocate Vrinda Grover additionally appearing for the survivor.
Advocate Ajithkumar argued that Suni had already spent 8.5 years in prison and that it amounts to a substantial portion of the 20-year sentence. He also contended that Dileep’s acquittal substantially weakened the prosecution’s case, as it removed the alleged motive behind the offence.
Opposing Suni’s plea, advocate Vrinda Grover told the court that his conviction had followed a rigorous trial based on oral, documentary, and electronic evidence. Suni had not completed even half of the sentence imposed for an offense that had “shocked the conscience of the society,” she stated. She also said that the case involved a continuing crime because the sexual assault had been recorded and copied onto memory cards.
SPP Aja Kumar too opposed Suni’s plea, referring to the violations of his bail conditions that Suni committed after the Supreme Court granted him bail in 2024. The prosecutor also raised the issue of the memory card containing the assault visuals, stating that the investigation into the alleged copying of the memory card containing visuals of the crime was still pending.
Refusing to suspend the sentence, the court observed, “We are of the considered view that the applicant has failed to make out any exceptional or sufficient grounds warranting the suspension of the execution of the sentence imposed by the trial court.”
