In State of Kerala v. Sunil N.S. @ Pulsar Suni and Ors [SC 118 of 2018], the Ernakulam Principal District and Sessions Court on December 12, 2025 acquitted the Malayalam actor Dileep in the much deliberated 2017 actress assault case.
The acquittal was because the prosecution failed to prove the criminal conspiracy charges against him beyond a reasonable doubt. The court ruled that there was no legally sustainable evidence to establish that Dileep conspired with the perpetrators or orchestrated the sexual assault.
Essentially, the prosecution’s case was that on the night of February 17, 2017, a leading Malayalam actress was abducted and sexually assaulted inside her car for almost two hours while travelling to Kochi. The accused allegedly recorded videos of the assault to blackmail the survivor later.
Insufficient Evidence Led to Dileep’s Acquittal
The Sessions Court observed that the evidence presented was insufficient to prove the conspiracy charges against Dileep. Several prosecution witnesses reportedly turned hostile in court, which weakened the case against the actor.
Ten accused faced trial on charges such as criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, sexual assault, gang rape, destroying evidence, and other offences under the IPC and IT Act. Dileep faced an additional charge linked to the destruction of evidence.
The Sessions Court convicted six others for offences including criminal conspiracy, wrongful confinement, assault with the intention to outrage modesty, abduction, attempt to disrobe, and gang rape.
However, Dileep (the eighth accused) was acquitted along with three others.
Several Controversies Surfaced During the Trial
During the long trial, which lasted around eight years, there were several controversies, including the prosecution accusing the trial judge of bias and two public prosecutors quitting the case.
The trial became one of the longest-running cases in Kerala’s recent history. A total of 261 witnesses were examined, including many well-known personalities from the Malayalam film industry. The investigation officer alone was questioned for 109 days. The court accepted 834 documents as evidence and examined two defence witnesses.
Ultimately, after reviewing all the evidence, the court concluded that the conspiracy angle involving Dileep was not convincingly proven.
Reference
The 1714 page judgment in State of Kerala v. Sunil N.S. @ Pulsar Suni and Ors dated 12th December 2025 [SC 118 of 2018]
