2017 Actress Sexual Assault Case: SC Grants Bail to Main Accused Pulsar Suni, Says, “Trial Is Not Likely To Conclude Within A Reasonable Time”

Today (September 17, 2024, Tuesday), the Supreme Court (SC) granted bail to the main accused in the 2017 actress sexual assault case, Sunil NS also known as Pulsar Suni. The SC bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Pankaj Mithal granted him bail considering his long period of incarceration and the slow progress of the trial court. The bench said, “The appellant has undergone incarceration for more than seven and a half years. All other co-accused have been granted bail…We have also noted the manner in which the trial has progressed. Accused no. 8 cross-examined the investigating officer from 15th February 2024 to 10th September 2024. The deposition of the said witnesses runs to 1800 pages. Since 261 witnesses have been examined and the case involves nine accused even recording of statements under section 313 of the CrPC will take a long time. Considering the long incarceration and the fact that the trial is not likely to conclude within a reasonable time, a case is made out for enlarging the appellant on bail”

Suni is accused of conspiring with prominent Malayalam actor Dileep and others in the abduction and sexual assault of the actress which took place on the outskirts of Kochi in February 2017. Suni and his co-accused were charged under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), Section 109 (abetment), Section 342 (wrongful confinement), Section 366 (kidnapping), Section 354 (assault on a woman), Section 354B (use of criminal force with intent to disrobe), Section 357 (assault or criminal force), Section 376D (gang rape), Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), and Section 212 (harboring an offender) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 66A and 66E of the Information Technology Act.

During the proceedings, Senior Advocate (SA) Ranjit Kumar who appeared for the Kerala government urged the SC to not allow the bail plea of Pulsar Suni. He said, ‘He is a menace to society and will again be. He filmed and circulated video,’ (the video referred to here is of the sexual assault). Disagreeing with SA Kumar’s argument, Senior Advocate K Parameshwar who appeared for Suni said, “What kind of fair trial is this? 7.5 years in jail ... 85 days they allowed the rather influential film actor accused to examine a witness. State did not oppose. No concept of fair trial here, now they are saying defence witnesses are there.” After hearing the matter, the SC bench granted bail to Pulsar Suni and ordered that he should be produced before the trial court within a week for his release on bail.