2017 actor assault case: Prosecution flags flaws in verdict acquitting Malayalam actor Dileep

The prosecution in the 2017 actor assault case has strongly criticised the trial court verdict that acquitted Malayalam actor Dileep and three others, calling the judgment “unsustainable”. A detailed report prepared by Special Public Prosecutor V Aja Kumar has been submitted to the Director General of Prosecution, recommending that an appeal be filed against the verdict of the Ernakulam District Principal Sessions Court.

Allegation of double standards by trial court

In its report, the prosecution alleged that the trial court did not follow a fair approach while assessing evidence. “The trial court has applied double standards of evaluation of evidence while evaluating the evidence of prosecution as against A1 to A7 and as against A7, A8, A9 and A15, especially in respect to A8 and A15,” the report stated. A8 refers to Dileep, while A15 is his friend Sarath G Nair.

Evidence ignored and unfairly assessed

The prosecution further claimed that its evidence was not properly considered by the court. According to the report, the material placed before the court was handled in a biased manner. “Most of the valuable pieces of evidence were either ignored or discarded without any valid reasons,” it said. It added that the explanations given by the trial court for rejecting prosecution evidence were weak and lacked proper judicial reasoning.

Sentence termed inadequate

The report also questioned the punishment awarded to the six convicted accused. It noted that they were sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment, even though the law allows for life imprisonment in such cases. The prosecution described this sentence as insufficient given the seriousness of the crime.

Criticism of lengthy judgment

Another major concern raised was the length and clarity of the judgment. The prosecution said the 1,709-page verdict was extremely difficult to read and understand. “The judgment is unnecessarily lengthy, and the same has become voluminous because of discussion on irrelevant matters, and illegal justifications even to justify the serious lapses on the part of the trial judge as well as counsels of Dileep and Sarath during the course of the trial,” the report said.

Appeal to be filed soon

Last month, the trial court acquitted Dileep and three other accused, while sentencing the first six accused, including prime accused Pulsar Suni, to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment. Lawyers associated with the prosecution said the Kerala government has already approved the move to challenge the verdict. An appeal will be filed before the Kerala High Court soon, officials confirmed.

(With inputs from news agency PTI)