Kerala HC rejects actor Dileep’s plea against fresh probe in sexual assault case

The Kerala high court on Tuesday turned down Malayalam star Dileep’s plea to quash fresh investigation against him in the 2017 sexual assault case of an actor.

Ruling that the second case can go ahead, the court asked officials to complete the probe by April 15. The order was passed by Justice Kauser Edappagath.

A fresh case was registered against the actor following a disclosure from director Balachandra Kumar. The court had reserved its verdict on the plea on February 24.

Dileep, represented by senior advocate B Raman Pillai and advocates Philip T Varghese and Thomas T Varghese, had contended that further investigation was a “sham” and an attempt to further delay the trial of the case.

Days ago, the actor came out in the open to reveal her identity, seven years after she was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by Dileep. She said she now identified herself as a survivor and not a victim.

The woman, who has been the subject of intense scrutiny and many headlines, said she was fighting to get her dignity back, and to overcome tags like “assaulted actress” and “victim” that were thrust on her.

The incident reportedly happened on February 17, 2017. The actor, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, was abducted and assaulted inside her car for two hours by some of the accused who forced their way into the vehicle and later escaped in a busy area of Kochi.

The entire act was filmed by some of the accused to blackmail the actress.

Among the 10 accused, seven were arrested after a preliminary probe. Dileep, the eighth accused, was arrested subsequently and let off on bail later. He has said he is innocent.

Speaking to senior journalist Barkha Dutt, the woman said visiting the court for 15 days when the trial began in 2020, was “a whole different level of a traumatic experience”.