E-Paper
SC extends time to complete trial inKerala actress sexual assault case
Actor Dileep, the eighth accused in the case who faces charges of criminal conspiracy among others, complained that the trial was being inordinately delayed over examination of witnesses
KOCHI: The Supreme Court on Friday extended the time to complete the trial in the actress abduction and sexual assault case in Kerala.
The top court bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Bela M Trivedi accepted the request of the trial judge seeking time till March 31, 2024 to complete the trial. At the same time, the division bench said that the proceedings should be completed as soon as possible.
In May this year, the Supreme Court had asked the trial court to complete the trial by July 31, 2023. It has been monitoring the progress of the trial so far.
Actor Dileep, the eighth accused in the case who faces charges of criminal conspiracy among others, represented by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, complained that the trial was being inordinately delayed over examination of witnesses. Earlier the actor had alleged that it was being “protracted at the instance of the prosecutrix so as to evade a final verdict.”
The case relates to the abduction and sexual assault of a Malayalam actress in a moving car in February 2017 near Kochi. Actor Dileep is one of the main accused in the case and spent less than three months in jail before being released on bail.
