Actress assault: Prime accused Pulsar Suni files appeal in Kerala High Court challenging conviction

Sunil NS, also known as Pulsar Suni, the prime accused convicted last month by a trial court in the 2017 Kerala actress abduction and sexual assault case, has moved an appeal before the Kerala High Court challenging his conviction and 20-year jail sentence [Sunil NS @ Pulsar Suni v State of Kerala]..Suni's criminal appeal comes after co-convicts Martin Antony, Saleem alias Vadiwal Salim and Pradeep approached the High Court challenging the same trial court judgment.In December 2025, the trial court had sentenced them to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for committing gang rape, along with other sentences and fines for the various offences that they were found guilty of.The appeals filed by Antony, Vadiwal Salim and Pradeep are slated to be heard next on February 4, 2026. Suni's appeal is yet to be heard. .Suni is one among the six persons found guilty by the Principal Sessions Court at Ernakulam for kidnapping and raping a prominent actress in 2017 in a moving vehicle, and for recording visuals of the assault.Suni was convicted for a range of serious offences including Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 342 (wrongful confinement), 354 (use of force to outrage modesty of woman), 366 (kidnapping), 354B (use of force to disrobe woman), 357 (use of criminal force to wrongfully confine a person) and 376D (gang rape) of Indian Penal Code..According to the prosecution, Suni was the principal executor of a criminal conspiracy hatched with actor Dileep to abduct and sexually assault the actress with the intention of humiliating and blackmailing her.Notably, Dileep was acquitted by the trial court of the conspiracy charges against him.It has been alleged that Suni and other co-accused staged a fake road accident, abducted the survivor, confined her in a vehicle, intimidated her and committed rape, while recording the sexual assault on a device to clearly disclose her identity.The prosecution further claimed that Suni later circulated the visuals, attempted to destroy evidence and even conspired from jail to extort money using the recorded visuals of the assault..In his appeal, Suni denies all these allegations and claims that he has been wrongfully convicted by the trial court, while describing the investigation in the case as being flawed and biased."The investigation suffers from grave procedural irregularities, including unexplained delay in registration of the FIR, illegal and irregular arrest of the appellant, failure to conduct a valid test identification parade, suppression of material evidence, and serious lapses in the handling of biological and digital evidence. These defects go to the root of the prosecution case and render the conviction unsustainable," the appeal stated.Suni has contended that his identification by the witnesses was unreliable and influenced by police photographs as well as media exposure, and that there were serious contradictions in the witness testimonies regarding the incident.He adds that there was a delay in the registration of the FIR by the police and claims that the police's explanation for this delay is unsatisfactory and unreliable.He further states that the evidence in this case, including a memory card and a mobile phone, was improperly recovered, making them legally inadmissible for the purposes of trial. He claims that even the production of the DNA and forensic evidence suffered from procedural lapses and contamination.The appeal adds that Suni has already undergone nearly 8 years in jail during the investigation and trial, which consists of more than one-third of the total 20-year sentence imposed on him.Suni has, therefore, also urged the High Court to suspend his jail sentence until his appeal is decided, while maintaining that he is innocent of all the charges levelled against him..The appeal has been filed through advocate VV Pratheeksh Kurup..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.