On Thursday, the Kerala High Court slammed accused actor Dileep for trying to delay trial proceedings in the actor assault case. This was in response to Dileep’s plea against the court’s order asking for the completion of trail in six months.
According to a report by The News Minute, the court asked Dileep why he wished to delay the case. It stated that the ‘cat which was trapped had been let out.’
Last month, the court also accepted the survivor’s plea asking for a woman judge to preside over the case. According to Live Law, Justice Vijaya Raghavan, in his judgement, said that the transfer of the case will “safeguard the interest of the victim” and will be “expedient in the interest of justice”.
The survivor had moved High Court after Ernakulam Sessions Court rejected her government-backed plea to transfer the case to a Sessions Court headed by a woman. The Sessions Court, while allowing for other requests like holding an in-camera trial and banning media publications of the proceedings, rejected her plea saying that no women additional session judges were available in the district, reported ET.
In the High Court, accused actor Dileep’s counsel argued that no special privilege was necessary for the survivor. However, the court did not accept this argument and said that she was well within her rights to make such a plea.
Recommended
Dileep, who is the 8th accused in the case, has been charged of being a conspirator in the assault. The incident occurred in February 2017, when the actor was molested on a moving vehicle and this was recorded on camera. She was then blackmailed and told that the video would be circulated if she approached the police.
Dileep was arrested by the police on July 10, 2017, and spent 85 days in custody before being let out on bail on October 3.
In December last year, the Kerala High Court rejected Dileep’s plea seeking a CBI investigation into the case. Dileep had claimed that he was being framed by the Kerala police. The court rejected this saying that an accused could not demand for any agency to investigate a case.
Image Courtesy: Firstpost