The Kerala High Court has decided to hear actor Dileep’s anticipatory bail plea in the physical courtroom on Saturday, Bar and Bench reported.
The Kerala crime branch had filed an FIR against Dileep and four others, for allegedly conspiring to kill police officials who investigated them, in the female actor abduction and assault case. The investigation was carried out based on allegations
raised by filmmaker Balachandra Kumar. Following this, the accused moved to the Kerala High court, seeking pre-arrest bail in the new case filed against them.
According to the report, the anticipatory bail pleas of Dileep and other accused were posted for hearing, on Friday. While hearing the lawyers’ statements before commencement of court, Justice Gopinath P said that it might be better to proceed with the case in physical court on Saturday since the case files were bulky.
He went on to explain his decision and stated,”It is not that this case is more important than others but I hear there is a counter affidavit and lots of material to go through. We can have a patient hearing and decide one way or the other.”
The prosecution, accused counsel and others did not oppose the justice’s suggestion and noted that they would also prefer to argue in physical court.
With a surge in Covid-19 cases in the state, the Kerala High Court has been functioning virtually since January 17. The court has also notified that in exceptional cases, the concerned judge can decide if they want to hear any particular case in the physical court. However, the members of the public shall be restricted.
Meanwhile, the Crime Branch on Friday included the conspiracy to murder charge, section 302 IPC, in the case against actor Dileep and the other accused parties. The murder charge was added along with Section 120B, in the charge sheet. The report, which mentioned the inclusion of the additional charge, was submitted by MP Mohana Chandran, Police Superintendent of Ernakulam Crime Branch to the First Class Magistrate Court 1, Aluva.
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Meanwhile, the Kerala police has opposed the actor’s bail plea, on Thursday. According to The News Minute, in a 68-page statement filed before the Kerala High Court, they noted that for the first time in history, a gang has been hired to commit a sexual offence along with a “criminal conspiracy to harm even the life of investigating officers.”
The police stated that Dileep has contributed to the resignations of special prosecutors from the case, along with 20 witnesses turning hostile during its trial. They also wrote that Dileep “attempted to thwart the legal process at each and every stage of the proceedings of the case.”
Further, the police added that Dileep has approached courts with “flimsy and frivolous cases,” to try and “extricate himself from the clutches of law.”
For a full timeline of the female actor abduction and assault case, see here.