Preliminary hearing in Kerala actress assault case adjourned to December 3

Hearing in the Kerala actress assault case was adjourned to December 3 by the Additional Special Court in Ernakulam. In 2017, a leading Malayalam female actor was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving vehicle in Kochi.

Kochi (Kerala): The Additional Special Court in Ernakulam, which considered the pretrial proceedings in the Kerala actress assault case on Saturday, adjourned the hearing to December 3.

The case dates back to February 2017, when a leading Malayalam woman actor was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving vehicle in Kochi. Eight out of 10 accused persons in the case, were present in the court on Saturday.

However, Malayalam actor Dileep was absent during the court proceedings. The court expressed displeasure over the absence of the ninth accused, Sanal Kumar, who was out on bail but did not appear in the court without giving a proper explanation.

The Supreme Court had earlier put a stay on the hearing after Dileep approached the apex court, requesting a copy of the memory card that contains video clippings of the assault. The Supreme Court had stayed the case to clarify technicalities involved in deciding whether the memory card was to be treated as a document or material object.

On Friday, after about six months, the SC finally rejected the actor's plea, stating that he cannot be handed over the copy of visuals considering the possible effect on the survivor. He, however, has been granted permission to view the content.

Ever since Dileep came out on bail in the case after serving 85 days in jail, there has been a constant effort to delay the commencement of trial proceedings. When the Angamaly Magistrate Court rejected his petition to access the copy of memory card, he kept approaching the higher courts, thus delaying the proceedings.

The Supreme Court, which rejected the plea on Friday, has also given directions that the trial proceedings in the case should be completed within six months without any delay.