Actor assault case: SC permits witness re-examination in a setback to Dileep

New Delhi: Actor Dileep suffered a blow on Friday when the SC declined to intervene in the trial court's witness examination in the 2017 actor abduction and sexual assault case. Dileep objected to the prosecution's decision to re-examine the witnesses, including actor Manju Warrier, before the trial's deadline.

He said that it was an effort by the prosecution to drag out the trial. The government, through senior counsel Ranjit Kumar, intends to cross-examine 32 witnesses and promises that the trial would be finished in 30 days. A bench consisting of Judge JJ Maheswari and Justice Sanjay Kumar ordered the Ernakulam court to take action to examine the witnesses and give a report on the trial's status before the next scheduled hearing. The case was postponed until March 24, the New Indian Express reported.

The survivor's senior attorney, R. Basanth, stated that the accused cannot determine which witness is important and should be cross-examined in front of the trial court. Every time the deadline approaches, the prosecution files a request for the examination of additional witnesses, senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, who is representing Dileep said. They want to question 40 more witnesses now that they have questioned 237, he said.