The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the trial into the allegations of abduction and sexual assault made by a Malayalam female actor against actor Dileep. The court stayed the trial after the Kerala government asked for more time to consider whether a memory card that contains video footage of the alleged assault constitutes a document under the law, Mathrubhumi reported.
“The government maintains that the memory card is material evidence and we wanted more time to present our case,” Kerala Public Prosecutor Prakash told The News Minute.
Dileep had filed a plea seeking access to the memory card after the Kerala High Court rejected his petition, Bar and Bench reported. Dileep has alleged that the video contained in the memory card is fabricated. The High Court had refused to allow Dileep access to the card last year on the grounds that it is not a “document” under the law.
On April 9, the Kerala government had told the court that it does not want to press charges against Dileep for the time being. The state had also requested for time to decide whether the memory card is a legal document.
The Supreme Court said on Friday that the case against Dileep cannot be heard in the trial court until the proceedings in the top court are concluded. The court said the next hearing will be held in the third week of July.
The actress was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of men on February 17, 2017, near Angamaly in Ernakulam. Dileep has been charged with planning the attack and hiring the group that carried it out, according to the police. A man called Pulsar Suni is the main accused in the case, while five others, including Dileep, have been named in the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Special Investigation Team looking into the case. Dileep’s former wife Manju Warrier and current wife Kavya Madhavan are among the 355 witnesses in the case.
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