Dileep anticipatory bail plea: Kerala High Court to hear matter physically on Saturday

The Kerala High Court on Friday decided to schedule the hearing of the anticipatory bail hearing of Malayalam cine actor Dileep on Saturday in physical court [P Gopalakrishnan alias Dileep & Ors. v State of Kerala & Ors.]..Dileep and four others have been booked by the Kerala Police for conspiring to kill police officers who were investigating a sexual assault case against him.The anticipatory bail pleas of Dileep and four other accused were tagged together and posted for hearing today but while hearing lawyers' submissions before the court commenced in the morning, Justice Gopinath P said that it might be better to hear the case in physical court tomorrow since the case files are bulky.He clarified that the Court was affording physical hearing not because this case was "more important" than other cases."It is not that this case is more important than others but I hear there is a counter affidavit and lots of material to go through. We can have a patient hearing and decide one way or the other," he remarked. .Neither the prosecution nor the counsel appearing for Dileep and others opposed the suggestion and in fact, emphasised that they too would prefer to argue in physical court. .The Kerala High Court has been functioning virtually since January 17 due to an exponential rise in Covid-19 cases in the State in the past week. The notification issued by the High Court did mention that "in exceptional cases, the concerned judge may decide if any particular case is to be heard in physical mode."The notification also stated that members of the public shall be restricted. .Interestingly, Dileep has also approached the Kerala High Court with a separate plea seeking to restrain the media from reporting on the trial of the case till the final verdict is pronounced. .Dileep and his associates are already being tried for allegedly taking revenge on a female actor in the Malayalam film industry by having her abducted, sexually assaulted and photographed in a moving vehicle.On January 3, the Investigating Officer in the case informed the CBI Special Court that further investigation would be necessary after statements from a film director Balachandra Kumar revealed that he had heard Dileep's statements that indicated his intention to take revenge on the police officers investigating the case.Subsequently, the Crime Branch of the Kerala Police registered a new FIR against Dileep and five others for allegedly threatening the investigation officials.Dileep, his brother P Sivakumar and brother-in-law TN Suraj have been charged for offences punishable under Sections 116 (offering bribe to public servant), 118 (concealing design to commit offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with Section 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.They then approached the Kerala High Court through through advocates Philip T Varghese, Thomas T Varghese, Achu Shubha Abraham, Litha VT, Monisha KR and Nitya R seeking anticipatory bail..Read more about the history of the assault case and the plea for anticipatory bail here.