In a significant development, the prosecution team in the high-profile 2017 actor assault case has delivered a stinging critique of the trial court's verdict, labeling the acquittal of Malayalam film star Dileep and three others as "unsustainable." A detailed report prepared by the prosecution strongly advocates for filing an appeal against the judgement.
Scathing Report Highlights 'Double Standards'
The report, authored by Special Public Prosecutor V Aja Kumar and submitted to the Director General of Prosecution, pulls no punches in its assessment of the trial court's decision. It accuses the Ernakulam District Principal Sessions Court of applying "double standards" while evaluating evidence against different sets of accused.
"The trial court has applied double standards of evaluation of evidence while evaluating the evidence of prosecution as against A1 to A7 and as against A7, A8, A9 and A15, especially in respect to A8 and A15," the report states. Here, A8 refers to actor Dileep and A15 is his friend Sarath G Nair.
Evidence Ignored, Sentences Inadequate
The prosecution's core argument is that the evidence it presented was not given a fair hearing. The report contends that the evidence was "appreciated in a most unfair, non-judicious and partisan manner." It further alleges that most valuable pieces of evidence were either ignored or discarded without valid reasons, and the court's justifications for rejecting this evidence are described as "flimsy and non-judicious."
Another major point of contention is the sentencing of the six convicted individuals, including prime accused Pulsar Suni. The prosecution notes that they were given 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, while the maximum punishment permissible for the crimes is life imprisonment. This, they imply, is an unduly lenient sentence.
A 'Voluminous' and 'Unnecessarily Lengthy' Judgement
The prosecution's report also takes issue with the sheer structure and volume of the trial court's judgement itself. The judgement, which runs to a staggering 1,709 pages, is criticized for being "very difficult for anybody to read and understand easily."
It claims the document is "unnecessarily lengthy" and has become voluminous due to discussions on "irrelevant matters" and "illegal justifications" meant to cover up serious lapses by the trial judge and the defense counsels for Dileep and Sarath during the trial proceedings.
This critical report sets the stage for the next legal battle. Lawyers associated with the case have confirmed that the Kerala state government has already approved filing an appeal before the Kerala High Court. An official indicated that the appeal application will be submitted to the court soon, marking a new chapter in this long-running and closely watched legal saga that has gripped the nation.
