The Ernakulam District and Sessions Court acquitted Malayalam actor Dileep on Monday regarding the 2017 sexual assault case involving a prominent female actor, dismissing the survivor’s claims that he orchestrated the attack. The trial lasted nearly eight years.
Dileep, alongside three others—Charlie Thomas, Sanilkumar (Mesthiri Sanil), and Sarath G. Nair—was exonerated, while the first six accused were convicted of rape and related offenses. Convicted individuals include N.S. Sunil alias ‘Pulsar Suni,’ Martin Antony, B. Manikandan, V.P. Vijeesh, H. Salim alias Vadiwal Salim, and Pradeep. They were found guilty under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act, including IPC Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 342 (wrongful confinement), 354 and 354B (outrage modesty), 366 (kidnapping), and 376D (gang rape), as well as Sections 66E and 67A for unauthorized recording and sharing of explicit content.
Sentences for the convicted individuals are scheduled to be delivered on December 12.
Charlie Thomas was accused of harboring some offenders post-crime. Sanilkumar allegedly conspired with Pulsar Suni in jail to extort money from Dileep, while Sarath G. Nair faced charges for managing and destroying evidence related to the assault. Three other accused—Vishnu, Vipinlal, and Aneesh—turned approvers during the trial, providing testimony against their co-accused.
The verdict drew significant public interest, leading to a courtroom filled with lawyers, journalists, and family members of the accused. All suspects were ordered to be present for the verdict announcement.
Notable personalities from the film industry were engaged in the case, including both the survivor and Dileep. Although several actors testified, witnesses like Bindu Panicker, Edavela Babu, and Bhama were declared hostile after retracting previous statements made to police.
A striking aspect of this case was the retraction of testimony by numerous witnesses. A total of 28 witnesses altered their prior statements, which hindered the prosecution’s case significantly. Initially, these witnesses indicated that there was animosity between Dileep and the survivor, with both claiming Dileep had publicly threatened her during rehearsals for a Malayalam film industry event.
However, during the trial, Bhama and Siddique refuted their earlier assertions and were subsequently declared hostile at the prosecution’s request, as did several others who diluted their testimony.
The prosecution recounted that the survivor was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving car on February 17, 2017. The lead accused, Pulsar Suni, allegedly filmed the assault. The prosecution argued that the accused staged a false accident, forcibly entered the actor’s vehicle, restrained her, and continued the assault until they reached Kalamassery.
Dileep was accused of conspiring to humiliate the survivor, with claims that he suggested filming her in a compromising manner and offered ₹1.5 crore for the act.
Dileep remained in judicial custody for 85 days following his arrest. Post-arrest, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) removed him from executive roles but quietly reinstated him the following year, causing controversy. Dileep sought a CBI investigation in 2018, claiming bias from the Kerala Police, but was denied.
In 2019, the High Court accommodated the survivor’s request for a female judge to oversee the trial. In 2020, she sought a transfer of the trial citing bias.
In November 2019, the Supreme Court denied Dileep’s request for access to the memory card containing the assault video, directing that the trial be concluded swiftly, though extensions were subsequently granted. In August 2025, the Kerala High Court requested a status report on the case.
Advocate Sandhya expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict, alleging that if the judge faced pressure, she should have resigned. Sandhya claimed the ruling undermined the dignity of the survivor and was not adequately evidence-based.
Dileep, responding to the judgment, claimed it was part of a conspiracy against him and extended thanks to his supporters, stating, “Justice has been done finally, and we welcome the decision,” remarked BJP leader Tom Vadakkan.
Meanwhile, Kerala Cabinet Minister P. Rajeev announced that the state government would appeal the trial court’s decision, affirming that they stand firmly with the survivor.
The complete judgment will be accessible following its upload by the court.
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