Kerala actor sexual assault case: Prosecution moves HC seeking trial court change

The woman actor, in her petition, alleged that the trial court was not neutral in the trial of the case and hence she feared that justice would be denied to her.

A Malayalam woman actor, who survived abduction and sexual assault, on Wednesday approached the Kerala High Court seeking change of the trial court. The moves comes days after the trial court turned down a similar demand of the prosecution.

The woman actor, in her petition, alleged that the trial court was not neutral in the trial of the case and hence she feared that justice would be denied to her. She also alleged that the court had lapsed on recording her statements and she had faced insult from the defendant during trial.

Film actor Dileep is one of the accused in the case. The prosecution, in its charge sheet, had stated that Dileep had conspired to abduct and assault the woman actor and assigned the task to a gang. The incident took place in 2017. During the trial, a few prosecution witnesses from the film industry turned hostile.

Earlier this month, the prosecution had moved a petition in the trial court demanding the change of the court. In a written submission, the prosecution said it did not want to conduct the trial in the present court to protect the interest of justice. “The prosecution as well as the victim will not get fair trial and justice from this court,’’ said the submission made in the trial court as per Section 309 of CrPC.

On October 24, the trial court dismissed the petition saying that the prosecutor was absent in the case and the lawyer representing the prosecutor was reluctant to argue the case. The court had then directed the investigating officer to initiate steps to resume the trial on November 3.

The trial court said it wanted to complete all proceedings of the case before 4 February, 2021, the deadline fixed by the Supreme Court. The high court had earlier transferred the trial into the case to a woman judge as per a plea by the woman actor.

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