Supreme Court grants bail to Pulsar Suni in high-profile Kerala actress assault case

A day after the Kerala government filed a sworn affidavit accusing actor Dileep of deliberately delaying the trial, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Sunil N.S., also known as Pulsar Suni, the main accused in the 2017 abduction and sexual assault case involving a Kerala actress.

During the on-going trial, Pulsar Suni had claimed that Dileep had masterminded the attack. The court noted that Sunil had been in custody for over seven years and that the trial was unlikely to conclude soon.

"The appellant has been in jail for more than seven and a half years. All other co-accused have already been granted bail. Given that 261 witnesses have testified and there are nine accused, even the process of recording statements under Section 313 of the CrPC will take a long time. Considering the extended incarceration and the delay in concluding the trial, we find grounds to grant bail,” stated Justices A.S. Oka and Augustine George Masih in a report published by Indian Express. 

Yesterday, the Kerala Government, opposing Suni's bail plea, accused actor Dileep, another accused in the case, of attempting to create misleading narratives during lengthy cross-examinations to discredit evidence.

The government argued, “A review of the extensive cross-examinations, now exceeding 1,800 pages by A8 (Dileep), shows that they are not relevant to the key facts of the case. It seems an effort is being made to undermine the prosecution’s direct and circumstantial evidence through repeated, lengthy suggestions.”

According to the prosecution, Suni, along with others, abducted and assaulted the actress as part of a criminal conspiracy orchestrated by Dileep.

Suni has been in custody since February 2017. Meanwhile, Malayalam actor Dileep was arrested on July 11, 2017, in connection with the same case. He spent 85 days in jail, before being granted bail, according to a report in The News Minute.

Suni, whose real name is Sunil, had previously attempted to secure bail, but Kerala High Court had rejected his earlier applications, but he then filed it in India's Apex court.

Suni, who has been in jail for nearly seven years, has filed bail pleas ten times in the Kerala High Court alone. 

According to reports, Suni cited worsening family conditions following his father's death in April 2023, noting that his elderly mother, suffering from health issues, was left to care for his young niece alone without support.

In his plea, Suni also highlighted that six months ago, the Supreme Court had granted him permission to reapply for bail if the trial did not conclude within a reasonable timeframe. After approaching the high court again and being denied, he sought relief from the apex court.