Kerala actress assault case against Dileep: Supreme Court questions need to supplement witness statements

The Supreme Court on Monday wondered if there was a need to supplement witness accounts in the trial against Malayalam actor Dileep in connection with the 2017 actress assault and abduction case in which he is an accused. [P Gopalakrishnan @ Dileep v. State of Kerala].A Bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Dipankar Datta asked Dileep to place his stand on the State seeking to examine another 40 odd witnesses, by tomorrow.Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Dileep asked that the Court pass some appropriate direction so that the trial ends at the earliest.Counsel for the State government then asked how the accused could complain about delays when there are so many witnesses to be examined, to which Justice Dinesh Maheswari responded, "But why supplementation of witnesses' statements? There must be some methodology, sir.".The matter will be heard next by the top court on Friday, February 17..The Supreme Court had in September last year extended the deadline for conclusion of the trial in the sexual assault case to January 31 this year.The trial is still going on till date. Dileep and his associates are being tried for conspiring to set the wheels of a revenge crime in motion against a female actor in the Malayalam film industry, by having her abducted, sexually assaulted, and photographed.In July 2017, Dileep was arrested and charged under various offences under the IPC, including Sections 366 (kidnapping), 120B (criminal conspiracy) , and 376D (gangrape). He was subsequently released on bail.It was alleged that the victim had a role to play in Dileep’s separation from his former wife. Dileep is alleged to have orchestrated the abduction of the actress, during which nude photographs of her were taken..The Supreme Court was today considering a miscellaneous application moved by Dileep alleging that the trial which is underway at the Principal Sessions Court, Ernakulam is being protracted at the behest of the prosecutrix to evade a verdict.Further, rather than the case proceeding expeditiously, he has been subject to a media trial, it was submitted.The Supreme Court had in January refused to pass any directions on a plea by the Kerala government seeking extension of the deadline for completing the trial.The Court had instead left it to the discretion of the trial court to take an appropriate decision. It had also set a deadline of February 16, 2022 for completing the trial against the actor..Another case was registered against Dileep in December 2022 for conspiring to kill police officers who were investigating the case. While the Kerala High Court had declined to quash the FIR in the matter, it had granted the actor anticipatory bail.The Kerala High Court is currently seized of a plea moved by the survivor actress alleging foul play in the probe and trial as well as another plea seeking to restrain the media from reporting on the trial of the case till the final verdict is pronounced..[Read Supreme Court order]