Actress sexual assault case: Kerala HC junks Dileep's appeal seeking CBI probe

Kochi, April 7 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Monday refused actor Dileep's appeal seeking a CBI investigation into the Malayalam actress sexual assault case.

Dileep is the eighth accused in the case and is billed as the key conspirator in the case.

The incident dates back to February 17, 2017, when the actress was abducted and assaulted in a moving car while travelling from Thrissur to Kochi after a film shoot.

Prime accused Pulsar Suni, a driver at film sets since 2010, recently secured bail from the Supreme Court after spending seven years in jail.

According to the police, Suni had ties with Dileep. Investigations revealed that actor Dileep held a grudge against the actress, allegedly because she had informed his former wife about his relationship with another actor.

The case involves the brutal assault, orchestrated by Suni and his associates, after abducting the actress in a premeditated act.

Incidentally, the popular actor’s plea for a CBI investigation into the case was rejected by a single judge of the High Court back in December 2018.

While hearing Dileep's appeal on April 1, the court noted that he had sought repeated adjournments in the appeal filed in March 2019.

However, on Monday, the Bench of Justice A.M. Mustaque and Justice P. Krishna Kumar dismissed the appeal, noting that the trial before the Principal District and Sessions Court in Ernakulam is heading to completion.

“We finally concur with the learned Single Judge with regard to the relief declining for further instructions to the CBI as it is now we also find that trial is heading to final conclusion”, the division bench observed. T

The Bench had, however, quashed certain observations of the single judge, saying that the matters are to be decided at the appropriate stage.

Ever since this case surfaced, the popular appeal of Dileep had suffered a severe beating, leading to his films not getting the desired collection at the box office.

After his first wedding with equally popular actress Manju Warrier ended in mutual divorce, he married another popular actress, Kavya Madhavan, whose first marriage had also ended in divorce.