New Delhi: The Kerala Government has accepted the plea of actor Dileep to freeze the framing of charges against him in the actress assault case till the Supreme Court gives a verdict on his plea against an earlier Kerala High Court ruling on a crucial evidence.
Dileep had approached the Supreme Court requesting to overturn the High Court’s order refusing to hand him over a copy of the memory card that contains the visuals of the actress getting assaulted, which is an important piece of evidence in the sensational case.
The HC had rejected his plea citing that the memory card was a ‘material object’ and not a document under Section 207 of the Indian Penal Code. The Supreme Court has posted the case to May 1 for further hearing, making it clear that the proceedings of the trial court are going to be delayed further.
Dileep was one of the accused in the abduction and sexual assault of a young actress early in 2017.
The popular actor was arrested on July 10, 2017 and let out on bail on October 3 that year after 85 days in custody. The High Court had granted him bail with stringent conditions. Seven other persons, including key accused 'Pulsar' Suni, were arrested in connection with the case.
The actress, who has worked in Tamil and Telugu films, was abducted and allegedly assaulted inside her car for two hours by the accused, who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017 and later escaped in a busy area.
