Kochi: Verdict on the sexual assault of leading actress in a moving vehicle in Kochi on February 17, 2017, will be delivered on December 8, 2025, media reports said.lll
A prominent Malayalam actor Dileep, who is accused of masterminding the Crime, was arrested and jailed for about three months from July 10, 2017. He was released on conditional bail by the Kerala High Court on October 3, 2017.
Nine persons were charged under Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 120B (criminal conspiracy), 366 (kidnapping), and 376D (gang rape), along with provisions under the Information Technology Act.
The trial started on January 30, 2020, at the Ernakulam Additional Special Sessions Court (SPE/CBI – III).
While the hearing was taking place, film director Balachandra Kumar and an acquaintance of Dileep raised several allegations against Dileep in December 2021.
Kumar accused the actor of plotting to harm police officers who had arrested him. Kumar said he was a witness to Dileep influencing witnesses. Kumar also claimed to have seen Dileep and others watching the video of the perpetrators abusing the actress.
Kumar claimed to have proof to support his allegations.
Based on these claims, Kerala police registered a new case against Dileep for conspiracy to assault investigating officers.
On 7 February 2022, he and others were granted anticipatory bail by Kerala High Court in the conspiracy case.
The case led to many prominent actresses forming Women’s Cinema Collective (WCC) quitting the Association of Malayalam Movie Actors (A.M.M.A) accusing it of siding with Dileep.
It is due to the initiative of the WCC Kerala government to set up a panel led by Justice Hema in 2019 to study the problems of women actors.
The Justice Hema committee submitted it to the government in 2019.
It was made public only on August 19, 2024, after the High Court intervention.
The publication of the report helped more women actors to publicly share their traumatic experiences, triggering another #MeToo wave in Kerala.
Actor assault case verdict on Dec 8
