With first accused set to walk out of jail after seven years, actor rape case poised for interesting legal turn

Sunil will be produced before the Principal District and Sessions Court, which is conducting the trial in the case, on Friday following the Supreme Court’s directive to release him on bail

The trial in the sensational actor rape case is poised for an interesting turn as N.S. Sunil, the first accused in the rape and abduction case, is all set to be released on bail after being incarcerated for over seven years.

Sunil will be produced before the Principal District and Sessions Court, which is conducting the trial in the case, on Friday following the Supreme Court’s directive to release him on bail. A bail execution petition was filed before the court on Thursday, said V.V. Pratheeksh Kurup, the counsel for Sunil.

The prosecution will pitch for imposing strict bail conditions while releasing the accused, said V. Ajakumar, the Special Public Prosecutor in the case.

The top court had ordered that Mr. Sunil should be released on bail on appropriate stringent terms and conditions and the State shall be heard before finalising the terms and conditions.

The case caught wide media attention after actor Dileep was arraigned as an accused. He was booked for conspiracy.

The trial, which began on January 30, 2020, witnessed several turbulent legal twists, including the two petitions of the prosecution to change Honey M. Varghese, the judge who is hearing the case. The prosecution had unsuccessfully raised the demand for a change of court twice in the Supreme Court, which contributed to the delay in completing the trial, according to legal sources.

Though the trial began four years ago, the proceedings could be effectively held for two years as the legal process was disrupted on several occasions.

Nearly one-and-a-half years was lost following the two countrywide COVID-19 lockdowns. The proceedings were put on hold for almost one year from December 29, 2021, when the police sought time for a further investigation in the case following the revelations of film-maker Balachandrakumar that he knew of a conspiracy to harm the police officers who were investigating the case.

The keenly contested case also witnessed the accused as well as the prosecution rushing to the High Court and Supreme Court with various petitions, which also added to the delay, pointed out legal sources.

With the examination of the 261 prosecution witnesses complete, the court is all set to conduct the ‘313 examination’ under the Criminal Procedure Code where the court would be posing questions to the accused to enable them to “personally explain any circumstances appearing in the evidence” against them.

Given the present pace of the court proceedings, the judgement is expected to be pronounced by the year-end, hoped sources.

Published - September 19, 2024 07:11 pm IST