Actor rape case: Kerala High Court reserves its verdict on prime accused’s plea to suspend his jail term
The Kerala government and the survivor have vehemently opposed before the Kerala High Court the demand by Pulsar Suni, the prime accused in the 2017
The Kerala government and the survivor have vehemently opposed before the Kerala High Court the demand by Pulsar Suni, the prime accused in the 2017 actor rape case, to suspend the 20-year prison sentence awarded by the trial court in the case and to grant him bail. After hearing the arguments, a Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V.
and Justice K.V. Jayakumar reserved its verdict in the case. While the government argued that granting him bail might result in misuse of visuals of the rape, the survivor submitted that he should not be granted bail, considering the severity of the offence. On his part, Suni sought suspension of his sentence, contending that he has spent over eight and a half years in prison.
In addition, actor Dileep, who was the eighth accused in the case, had been acquitted by the trial court. This was opposed by the special public prosecutor, who cited that the mobile phone in which the alleged visuals of the rape were recorded, is yet to be recovered. Moreover, the probe is ongoing, while Suni has criminal antecedents.
He is likely to abscond, if bail was granted. The State’s appeal seeking enhancement of his sentence and challenging the acquittal of the other accused is pending, he submitted. The survivor’s lawyer submitted that there was no exceptional circumstance that was shown to justify the suspension of the sentence.
The BriefWire