Pulsar Suni, prime accused In Kerala actress abduction case gets bail after 7 years
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New Delhi: Seven years after the Kerala actress case started, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to the prime accused, Pulsar Suni. In connection with this case, Malayalam actor Dileep had also been arrested and spent nearly three months in a Kochi jail.
This development came as Suni had moved to the Supreme Court, after the Kerala High court rejected his tenth overall bail plea on June 3. A bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Pankaj Mithal noted that Suni had been in custody for over seven years, whilehis co-accused , including Dileep had already been granted bail.
The Supreme Court ordered Suni to be produced before the trail court within a week for his release on bail, adding that the state could request stringent conditions to be imposed before his release.
“Considering long incarceration and that the trial is not likely to be concluded (soon), a case is made out for enlarging appellant on bail. Appellant to be produced before the trial court within a week for grant of bail, State can argue for stringent conditions,” said the court on Tuesady."
However, the Bench declined to waive the costs imposed by HIigh Court on Suni for repeatedly filing bail applications, stating that the fees must be deposited with legal services.
"We do not interfere with the costs as they are meant to be deposited with legal services." the court remarked. Justice Oka also observed, "If an accused has to file multiple applications and long judgements result in bail decisions, this contributes to docket explosion in larger High Courts, which adds to the burden."
Suni is one of the accused in the conspiracy to abduct and sexually assault a prominent actress in 2017. The actress was abducted, driven around car, photographed, and sexually assualted. Suni was arrested in February 2017 and had been in jail since then.
(IANS Input)