The first accused Sunilkumar, aka ‘Pulsur’ Suni (file image)
| Photo Credit: special arrangement
The Ernakulam Sessions Court in Kerala will pronounce its judgment in the sensational actor rape case, in which actor Dileep is an accused, on December 8, 2025.
Mr. Dileep was tried for allegedly hatching a conspiracy with the first accused, N.S. Sunil, aka ‘Pulsur’ Suni, who allegedly raped the woman actor and videographed the criminal act. The actor was imprisoned for almost 90 days in the case.
The prosecution case is that the accused raped the actor in a moving car on February 17, 2017. The first accused, alleged the prosecution, recorded the alleged act in a mobile phone following the conspiracy.
The Ernakulam Principal Sessions Judge, Honey M. Varghese, will pronounce the judgment on the day, thus marking the end of one of the prolonged and sensational criminal trials in Kerala.
The trial in the case began in 2018. The proceedings were disrupted several times during the past years. The prosecution had to be stopped on a few occasions as the woman actor approached the higher courts twice seeking the removal of the judicial officer considering the case.
While the COVID-induced lockdown took away almost two years, the prosecution took one year to complete the further investigation in the case following the alleged revelations of filmmaker Balachandrakumar that he had witnessed Mr. Dileep and others watching the visuals of the alleged rape at his Aluva residence, thus adding to the delay.
The case would go into the annals of judicial history as one of the few criminal cases in which the largest number of spin-off petitions were moved in the upper courts, including the Supreme Court.
The accused as well as the prosecution had filed several appeals on the various orders passed by the trial court and the High Court, which also had a cumulative effect on the delay in completing the trial.
The case had also left much impact on the Malayalam cinema industry and led to the formation of Women Collective in Cinema, a forum that canvassed for the protection of the rights of women in cinema and the constitution of the Hema Committee report to look into the issues faced by women in Malayalam cinema.
The court had considered around 1,700 documents and 261 witnesses, including the prominent cinema actors. The trial in the case was held in-camera.
The other accused in the case are Martin Antony, B. Manikandan, V.P. Vijeesh, Salim, Pradeep, Charley Thomas, and Sanil.
Published – November 25, 2025 03:26 pm IST
