The state plans to contest the sentences imposed on six accused, including prime accused Pulsar Suni, and also challenge the acquittal of Dileep and three others.
Published Dec 23, 2025 | 1:57 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 23, 2025 | 1:57 PM
Kerala High Court. (iStock)
Synopsis: The Kerala government is set to move the high court against the verdict in the female actor assault case, challenging both the acquittal of actor Dileep and the quantum of punishment awarded to six convicted accused. The appeal will be filed soon after the high court reopens following the Christmas vacation.
The Kerala government is set to move the high court against the verdict in the female actor assault case, challenging both the acquittal of actor Dileep and the quantum of punishment awarded to six convicted accused.
Officials in the Director General of Prosecution’s office said the state has cleared the proposal to appeal the judgment of the Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Court.
The appeal will be filed soon after the high court reopens following the Christmas vacation.
Special Public Prosecutor V Ajay Kumar has submitted a detailed assessment of the verdict, which was forwarded to the government through the Director General of Prosecution.
The government has directed that the appeal be filed without delay.
The state plans to contest the sentences imposed on six accused, including prime accused Pulsar Suni, and also challenge the acquittal of Dileep and three others.
The prosecution contends that the trial court inconsistently evaluated the same set of witness testimonies while convicting some accused and acquitting others.
On 12 December, Judge Honey M Varghese of the Principal Sessions Court in Ernakulam awarded rigorous imprisonment of 20 years each to six people, convicted in the case.
While sentencing the accused, Judge Varghese said the court would not be carried away with any sort of sensation or bias, but instead has to balance justice for society and the offender by considering the crimes, aggravated history, reform potential of the accused, aggravating and mitigating factors and the aims of punishment.
Besides sentencing to rigorous imprisonment, the court also imposed a fine of ₹2.75 lakh on the first accused, Pulsar Suni, ₹1 lakh on the second accused, Martin Antony, and ₹75,000 each on the remaining people found guilty.
Failing to pay the fine will invite an additional six months’ rigorous imprisonment. Of the fine amount collected, the court ordered ₹5 lakh to be given to the survivor.
Earlier, on 8 December, the court had acquitted three accused, including P Gopalakrishnan, popularly known by his screen name Dileep.
Six convicts sentenced are NS Sunil Kumar alias Pulsar Suni, Martin Antony, B Manikandan, VP Vijeesh, H Salim alias Vadiwal Salim, and Pradeep. They will be lodged at the Central Prison in Viyyur, Thrissur.
The survivor had come out with a strongly worded social media post, expressing anguish over continued cyber abuse and questioning the consequences she has faced for pursuing legal action.
In the post, she said that filing a police complaint immediately after the attack and demanding legal action is being perceived as a mistake by some.
“When an attack was committed against me, I immediately complained to the police and went ahead demanding legal action. But some believes that I should have kept quiet and said nothing to anyone, saying that everything that happened that day was fate,” she wrote.
(With inputs from Sreelakshmi Soman.)
