Supreme Court asks Kerala to clarify the number of witnesses left to be examined in the 2017 actor sexual assault case

In August last year, the top court gave time till March 31, 2024 to finish the trial

Updated - August 27, 2024 05:54 pm IST - NEW DELHI

The accused, Sunil, had approached the apex court after the Kerala High Court dismissed his bail on June 3.  File.

The accused, Sunil, had approached the apex court after the Kerala High Court dismissed his bail on June 3.  File. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 27, 2024) asked the State of Kerala to confirm the number of witnesses waiting to be examined in a case of sexual assault of a Malayalam actress inside a moving car in 2017.

A Bench headed by Justice A.S. Oka sought the information from the State while hearing a plea for bail by the main accused, Sunil N.S., who has been in jail for the past seven years.

Also read: Women in Cinema Collective | The fight for a gender-balanced workplace

Sunil had approached the apex court after the Kerala High Court dismissed his bail on June 3.

Advocate Sriram Parakkat, appearing for Sunil, produced medical records to prove that his client was unwell. The bail plea said the accused’s mother was also undergoing medical treatment. Mr. Parakkat said only one prosecution witness was examined in the past 95 days.

Sunil has complained that the past years have seen a lot of twists and turns. One of the accused is an actor, Dileep. The process itself should not become a punishment.

The Bench directed the State to produce the witness deposition records in two weeks and listed the case then.

The apex court had declined bail to Sunil, also known as Pulsar Suni, in April last year.

The Supreme Court had extended the time for the completion of the trial in the case multiple times.

In August last year, the top court gave time till March 31, 2024 to finish the trial. The trial had failed to meet two earlier top court-issued deadlines of January 31, 2022 and July 31, 2023.

The sexual assault case had triggered a public outrage. Women actors’ collective from within the Kerala film industry had raised allegations of exploitation and sought a fair enquiry. The State government had constituted a committee chaired by a former Kerala High Court, Justice K. Hema in 2017.

The committee’s redacted report, which was made public on August 19, 2024, has stirred a hornet’s nest with the surfacing of cases of discrimination, sexual exploitation and nepotism within the State’s film industry. eom

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