Congress leader Satheesan raises concerns over delay in actress assault trial

Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan on Wednesday expressed concern over the delay in trial in the actress assault case and said it will undermine public faith in the judiciary.

Satheesan urged the Kerala High Court to review the delayed trial proceedings in the 2017 Kerala actress assault case after the Supreme Court granted bail to the main accused Sunil N S.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Sunil in the case in which actor Dileep is also an accused.

The Congress leader said the assault case against the actress had been dragging on for seven and a half years and the accused had finally been granted bail.

“This delay undermines public confidence in the judiciary because delaying justice is tantamount to denying justice,” Satheesan told reporters at the scene.

The actress, who has acted in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, was kidnapped by some people on the night of February 17, 2017 and allegedly molested her in her car for two hours. The men had forcefully entered the vehicle and later fled to a crowded area. The entire act was filmed by the people to blackmail the actress.

The police had arrested several people in connection with the case. Dileep was also arrested in connection with the case and later released on bail.

Meanwhile, Satheesan commented on the recent revelations about the alleged scandal in the Malayalam film industry stemming from the Justice K Hema Committee report on sexual abuse of female actresses.

He said the left-wing government was not ready to take an honest stance on the issue.

The Congress leader said the opposition had demanded that only women officers should investigate the allegations in the Hema committee report, but the government had instead formed a mixed-gender team.

Referring to the Kerala High Court's direction to investigate the findings of the Hema Committee report, Satheesan urged the government to bring the perpetrators to justice without violating the privacy of the victims.

“It is unfortunate that the government is not ready to take an honest stance. The government is not on the side of the victims, but on the side of the perpetrators. The government seems to be focused on protecting the guilty. With each passing day, it is becoming clearer that this government is inherently misogynistic,” he claimed.

Following the 2017 assault case of an actress, the Kerala government set up the Justice K Hema Committee to investigate cases of harassment and exploitation within the industry.

The committee's report uncovered shocking cases of sexual harassment and exploitation of women in the industry.