A Kerala court on Thursday denied the prosecution’s plea to cancel actor Dileep’s bail in the 2017 actress assault case. He is the eight accused in the abduction and sexual assault of an actress in a moving vehicle by a group of men. The prosecution had submitted that the actor tried to influence some of the witnesses in the case.
Reportedly, while granting Dileep bail, the court ordered the actor not to influence any witnesses related to the case. He was arrested in July 2017 and was in jail for 85 days before being released on bail. The trial proceeding began in January this year and reportedly, 82 witnesses have been questioned. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the questioning was delayed and the trial court revised the deadline twice. The Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court had initially set deadlines for completing the trial but the trial court sought more time.
Earlier, the approver in the case filed a petition in the Kerala HC after the trial court ordered his arrest and wanted to produce him for witness cross-examination. According to a leading Malayalam daily, Vipin Lal, the approver in the case, told HC that the trial court verdict was against the code of criminal procedure and it was not maintainable. Lal also informed the court that he was suffering from tuberculosis and had fallen ill while in jail. The court ordered Lal to appear before it on January 21, but he informed them that he could not appear, as there was a threat to his life.
