Actor Sexual Assault Case: Supreme Court Extends Time For Completion Of Trial

The Supreme Court on Friday extended the time for completion of trial in the Kerala actor abduction and sexual assault case.

A division bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Bela M. Trivedi granted extension of time for completion of trial while directing that the proceedings be completed as expeditiously as possible. The bench passed the order allowing an extension application filed by the trial judge seeking time till March 31, 2024.

Sr Adv Mukul Rohatgi appearing for Malayalam actor Dileep, who is accused of hatching the criminal conspiracy, flagged delays in examination of witnesses and accusations being made against the trial judge.

The Apex Court has been monitoring the progress of the trial, receiving status reports from the trial judge from time to time. 

On 08.05.2023, the Apex Court while taking note of the report sent by the Trial Judge, had directed that the trial be completed by 31.07.2023.

The application has been filed as a Miscellaneous Application in the Special Leave Petition filed by the Actor in 2018 seeking copy of the memory card. 

The case relates to the kidnap and the sexual attack against a female actor in the outskirts of Kochi in February 2017. Dileep is alleged to be the mastermind behind the crime and is facing trial for criminal conspiracy. Recently, the trial court had allowed further investigation in the case on the basis of fresh allegations raised by film director Balachandra Kumar in December 2021.

Case Title: P. GOPALKRISHNAN @ DILEEP V. THE STATE OF KERALA, MA in Crl.A. No. 1794/2019