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Kerala’s Minister for Law P Rajeev has announced that the state government will appeal against the Ernakulam District Principal Sessions Court’s judgement acquitting actor Dileep in the sexual assault case of a prominent woman actor.
“The state government has decided to appeal against the trial court’s verdict in the actress attack case. I spoke to the Hon’ble Chief Minister about this. The government is with the survivor,” Rajeev said in a statement on December 8.
Earlier in the day, Dileep was acquitted in the 2017 abduction and assault of a woman actor, prompting backlash. Angered by the verdict, many, including members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), took to social media to show their solidarity with the survivor.
While Special Judge Honey M Varghese found prime accused ‘Pulsar’ Suni guilty of rape, she acquitted Dileep, the eighth accused, who was charged with criminal conspiracy and orchestrating the assault.
Five others, Martin Antony (A2), Manikandan (A3), Vijeesh VP (A4), Salim H (A5), and Pradeep (A6), were also found guilty.
The accused were convicted under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 120b (criminal conspiracy), 354 (use of force to outrage modesty of woman), 366 (kidnapping), 354B (use of force to disrobe woman) and 376D (gang rape).
They were also found guilty of offences under sections 66E and 67A of the Information Technology Act for video recording the sexual assault.
Meanwhile, Dileep blamed his former wife and well-known actor Manju Warrier for the case against him, claiming it was “kalla kadha” (fake story).
Read our detailed coverage of the Kerala actor assault case over the years here.