The Kerala High Court on Tuesday has rejected a plea by Sunil N S, the prime accused in the 2017 actress assault case, to recall 2 witnesses who testified during the trial.
The court dismissed the request, calling it a “frivolous” attempt aimed at delaying the proceedings. Justice C Jayachandran stated that the evidence sought to be introduced by recalling the two witnesses was “not essential for a just decision of the case.”
The plea was made by Sunil, also known as Pulsar Suni, after his earlier request to recall the witnesses was denied by the Sessions Court. One of the witnesses was the doctor who collected forensic samples, and the other was the Assistant Director of the Forensic Science Laboratory. Suni argued that he was in judicial custody during the trial, which prevented his lawyer from properly consulting him for cross-examining the witnesses.
However, the High Court rejected this argument, pointing out that the trial had been ongoing since January 30, 2020, and the Supreme Court extended the time limit for the case on multiple occasions. The court noted that Suni attended the trial regularly for the past 2 years, undermining his claim that his lawyer could not cross-examine the witnesses due to lack of instructions.
Justice Jayachandran further emphasized that someone who had ample opportunity to act during the trial could not later claim a lack of opportunity. The court also stated that the application appeared to be filed with the sole purpose of delaying the case’s disposal.
The 2017 incident involved the abduction and alleged molestation of a prominent actress from Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam films, who was confined to her car for two hours by a group of assailants. The attackers filmed the incident to blackmail her.
The case involves 10 accused, including actor Dileep, who was arrested and later released on bail. 7 of the accused have been arrested, and the trial continues.
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