Dileep & Kerala Actress Abduction And Rape Case: Verdict On December 8

Eight and a half years after the abduction and sexual assault of a Malayalam film actress—a case that shook the industry—the Ernakulam District Sessions Court will pronounce its judgment tomorrow. Over the years, the case has taken several dramatic turns, exposing the industry’s entrenched misogyny, opacity, and the troubling proximity some of its biggest names maintained with individuals with criminal backgrounds.

It also spotlighted the survivor’s extraordinary resolve to pursue justice despite intense bullying, pressure, and hostile conditions. The incident galvanised several prominent women actors to speak openly about the misogyny and mistreatment they routinely faced on and off film sets, eventually leading to the formation of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC)—the first organisation of its kind in the country.

The prolonged trial saw the survivor repeatedly petitioning for a change of judge, alleging distressing and constraining courtroom experiences. Public outrage was primarily directed at actor Dileep, accused of conspiring with hired assailants to carry out the crime. Yet, despite the seriousness of the allegations, many witnesses turned hostile, a turn of events that ultimately benefited Dileep, the eighth accused in the case.

The Case

On February 17, 2017, a prominent South Indian actress was abducted while travelling from Thrissur to Kochi. Inside the moving vehicle, a group of men sexually assaulted her and recorded the assault on video. The survivor later detailed the two-hour ordeal, breaking a long silence around misogyny, exploitation and the dark undercurrents of the Malayalam film industry.

The driver, Martin Antony, was arrested the very next day. Within a week, police arrested N. S. Sunil, alias Pulsar Suni, who was named the first accused. The investigation took a decisive turn when a letter allegedly written by Suni from jail surfaced. The letter claimed he had been hired to attack the actress and was yet to be paid, bringing popular Malayalam actor Dileep under suspicion.

What Is the Prosecution’s Charge Against Dileep?

According to the prosecution, Dileep and the survivor were once friends. The fallout allegedly began after Dileep learned she had disclosed his extramarital relationship with actor Kavya Madhavan—now his wife—to his then-wife, Manju Warrier. The prosecution argues that the abduction and sexual assault were orchestrated as an act of revenge.

Dileep was arrested in July 2017 and named the eighth accused for allegedly masterminding the attack. He spent 83 days in jail before securing bail. Claiming that the investigating agency was biased, Dileep petitioned the High Court to transfer the case to the CBI, but the court dismissed the plea.

The Trial

The trial commenced on March 18, 2018, with nine accused in total. In 2019, after the survivor requested a woman judge, the case was reassigned to Honey M. Varghese. However, the survivor later sought another transfer, alleging that the insensitive handling of the in-camera trial had caused her severe distress. The prosecution also accused the judge of delaying proceedings on flimsy grounds and objected to certain remarks. Higher courts rejected the transfer request.

During the trial, two public prosecutors resigned. Of the 261 witnesses examined—many from the film industry—28 turned hostile, including actors Siddique, Bhama, and former AMMA general secretary Idavela Babu, contradicting earlier statements they had made to the police.

Balachandran’s Exposé

In 2021, small-time director Balachandran released an audio clip that purportedly linked Dileep to Pulsar Suni. He later told the media that Dileep and his associates had allegedly planned to kill the investigating officers. Following this, fresh cases were registered against the actor.

Memory Card Tampering

The memory card containing the video of the assault was found tampered with while in judicial custody, raising serious concerns. Earlier, Dileep had sought access to the memory card, and the Supreme Court permitted inspection of its contents. Allegations of tampering emerged soon after.

The survivor demanded a Special Investigation Team to probe the suspected tampering and alleged that the visuals had been leaked. A State Forensic Science Laboratory report confirmed the memory card had been accessed three times in 2018—while in court custody—and once again in 2021. The change in the memory card’s hash value suggested deliberate tampering.

The Hema Committee

The assault, coupled with pressure from the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), led to the formation of a committee headed by Justice Hema to examine misogynistic practices in the Malayalam film industry. The committee submitted its report in 2019, but the government withheld it until the High Court ordered the release of a redacted version.

An SIT was set up to investigate cases of casting couch and other abusive practices flagged in the report. However, the SIT later informed the court that it had dropped action in 35 cases based on the committee’s general findings, as none of the victims had come forward to give formal statements.

The committee also recommended drafting laws to improve working conditions for women in the film industry. The government subsequently convened a cinema conclave to devise a new film policy incorporating these recommendations.