Actor Sexual Assault Case | Supreme Court Raises Concerns Over Lengthy Cross Examination By 'Influential Accused' Dileep

The Supreme Court today (September 17) raised concern about the extended cross-examination of a prosecution witness by Malayalam actor Dileep, an accused in the 2017 actress sexual assault case.

During the hearing of prime accused Pulsar Suni's bail plea, a bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Pankaj Mithal noted the slow progress of the trial.

Senior Advocate K Paremeshwar, the counsel representing Suni, argued that the co-accused, an influential actor (Dileep), had been allowed to cross-examine a witness(the investigating officer) for 95 days, leading to a deposition that ran for 1,800 pages, and the state did not raise a single objection to such lengthy cross-examination.

Justice Oka remarked, “We are wondering, one influential accused, he cross-examines a witness for 1,800 pages, how many days will he argue?” The bench also pointed out that Suni had already been in custody for more than seven and a half years.

Justice Oka further highlighted that 261 witnesses have been examined by the prosecution. He added, “Even the examination under Section 313 of the CrPC will take months. Over 260 prosecution witnesses examined, whatever they say against every accused will have to be put to every accused. How long he can continue like this?”

The Counsel for the State of Kerala submitted that the prosecution has completed the examination of witnesses and closed its case.

After dictating the order, Justice Oka remarked that accused individuals have to approach the court multiple times to secure bail, even in cases that are triable by a magistrate and in which chargesheet has been filed. “Every bail matter we know how many times people have to approach the court. Even in magistrate triable cases”, he said.

Justice Oka also said that detailed arguments made before the HC in bail cases lead to longer judgments, which in turn causes delays.

“Look at the nature of arguments made before the HC. If the counsels make such detailed submissions the court has to deal with it leading to long judgements.”

He emphasized that also contributes to the docket explosion in larger HCs, in turn adding to the caseloads of the Supreme Court.

Considering Suni's prolonged incarceration, the Supreme Court granted him bail, noting that the trial is unlikely to conclude soon.

Suni, the main accused in the 2017 assault case, has been in custody since February 23, 2017. The prosecution alleges that Suni, under the conspiracy led by actor Dileep, abducted and sexually assaulted the actress in a moving car. The accused have been charged with multiple offenses under the IPC, including criminal conspiracy and gang rape.

The Kerala HC had dismissed Suni's 10th bail application in 2023, citing that there were no material changes in circumstances to justify his release. The HC also imposed a cost on Suni for filing repetitive bail applications.

Dileep is accused of hatching the criminal conspiracy behind the crime.

Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar appeared for the State.

Case no. – SLP(Crl.) No. 11147/2024

Case Title – Sunil NS v. State of Kerala