Kerala actress assault case: HC rejects accused plea

The Kerala High Court has declined to suspend the sentence of two accused in the 2017 actress assault case, in view of the seriousness of the crime committed by them and the manner in which it was carried out.

A bench of justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar also took into account “the larger considerations of public interest, the societal impact of the offence, and the need to preserve public confidence in the administration of criminal justice”, to deny the relief to the two accused.

The order came while dismissing the separate pleas by Saleem H and Pradeep, accused number 5 and 6, respectively, in the case. The court said that on going through the judgment and the materials placed on record, it was of the prima facie view that there was sufficient evidence on record to prove the alleged conspiracy between the six accused and that they executed their plan with precision.

“Prima facie, it appears that the applicants (Saleem and Pradeep) had assisted and aided in the commission of the crime, and shared the common intention with all the conspirators,” the bench said.

The two accused had sought suspension of their 20-year jail sentence during the pendency of their appeals against their conviction and punishment.

The High Court was of the view that the two accused have not been able to point out any patent infirmity, manifest illegality, or perversity in the judgment of the Sessions Judge convicting and sentencing them.

“At this interlocutory stage, we are unable to conclude that the findings recorded by the Sessions Judge are so unreasonable or perverse as to justify suspension of the execution of the sentence,” it said.

The High Court had on July 9 denied suspension of sentence to Sunil N S, also known as Pulsar Suni, the prime accused in the case.

The sessions court had on December 12 last year sentenced to 20 years imprisonment six persons, including Sunil, Saleem and Pradeep, for the offence of gang rape.

Actor Dileep and three other accused were acquitted in the case.

The case relates to the abduction and sexual assault of a multi-lingual actress in a moving vehicle while she was travelling from Thrissur to Kochi on February 17, 2017.