The Supreme Court on Monday directed the trial in the Kerala actress sexual assault case, in which Malayalam actor Dileep is an accused, to get “specific priority” and the hearing should be completed by January next year.
Hearing a petition filed by Dileep, a bench headed by Justice Dinesh Maheshwari also said that if needed, the hearing should be held on a day-to-day basis. In his petition, Dileep claimed that the hearing in the case was being delayed to evade the final verdict. He pleaded before the SC for an expeditious hearing in the case.
The SC bench, without making any comment on Dileep’s grievances, said, “Taking the totality of circumstances into account and the orders already passed in this matter, we would expect that the trial of the case is assigned a specific priority. For that purpose, if necessary, the trial may proceed on a day-to-day basis.”
The Supreme Court has also directed the trial court in Kerala to complete the proceedings by January next year.
Meanwhile, the prosecutrix has filed another plea for transfer of the case, which will soon be heard by the Kerala High Court. The apex court asked the HC to hear the petition without delay.
The SC bench listed the matter for next hearing on October 11 while directing the trial court to send a progress report within four weeks.
The case against Dileep dates back to February 2017 when a Malayalam actress filed a complaint against the actor and seven others for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting her. There are a total 10 accused in the case, including Dileep. Kerala police arrested seven accused in the case based on the complaint of the actress. Dileep was subsequently arrested and he is now out on bail.
On the work front, Dileep will next be seen with Tamannaah Bhatia in their upcoming film, tentatively titled D147. It will mark Tamannaah’s debut in Malayalam cinema. The Muhurat ceremony for D147 was held a few days ago, and the film is scheduled to go on the floors from September 10. D147 is directed by Arun Gopy and produced by Vinayaka Ajith.
