KOCHI: The prosecution has accused the trial court of adopting a partisan and discriminatory approach in evaluating evidence in the 2017 actor abduction and assault case, alleging that it applied different yardsticks when it came to key accused Pulsar Suni and actor Dileep.
The court had last December acquitted Dileep, the eighth accused, saying the prosecution failed to prove the charges against him beyond a reasonable doubt.
However, in the legal opinion it submitted to the government—accessed by TNIE—seeking approval to file an appeal, the prosecution accused the court of adopting “double standards” and alleged that the evidence it presented was appreciated in a “highly unfair, non-judicious, and partisan” manner.
It said a large volume of evidence against Dileep was either ignored, misinterpreted, or deliberately misread to unduly favour him.
The prosecution also said jail sentence and fine imposed on Pulsar Suni and five others were shockingly low and violated the guidelines of the Supreme Court that the trial courts are required to consider while awarding sentences in gang rape cases.
The awarded sentences amounted to bare minimum punishment, the prosecution said, as it also sought to file an appeal on this count.
An official told TNIE that the government had recently granted the nod and the appeal would be filed latest by January 20.
As per the legal opinion, while the court found Pulsar Suni and five others guilty, holding that the prosecution had proven their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, Dileep and three others were acquitted by applying a different standard of evaluation.
‘Crucial witnesses intentionally disbelieved’
Evidence from certain witnesses, which the court relied on to convict Pulsar Suni and the others, were disbelieved by the same court to acquit Dileep and his close associate Sarath G Nair, it said.
The prosecution also alleged that the trial court misquoted certain witnesses and cited portions of testimony out of context to create false narratives to justify Dileep’s acquittal. Several crucial witnesses were intentionally disbelieved on flimsy and unsustainable grounds. Clear admissions, including judicial confessions by the acquitted accused, were ignored while the admissions made by the convicted accused were relied upon to convict them, allegedly by “ignoring” or “chopping off” their clear links to Dileep.
The prosecution pointed out that although Dileep admitted to having filed a complaint before the state police chief enclosing a copy of a letter written to him by Pulsar Suni from jail, the trial court misinterpreted and ignored the letter to acquit him. Consequently, Pulsar Suni and Sanilkumar were acquitted of charges under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 109 read with 506 (abetment of criminal intimidation) of the IPC.
The prosecution said evidence from several witnesses was misquoted or taken out of context to falsely conclude that the visuals of the sexual assault were not leaked from the court and that the victim’s privacy was not compromised during trial. Even the special public prosecutor was misquoted to support this conclusion.
‘Witnesses disbelieved’
According to the prosecution, witnesses who supported its case and deposed against Dileep and Sarath were deliberately disbelieved to construct false narratives and justify their acquittal
It alleged there were clear motives behind the unfair, unsustainable and non-judicious acquittal of Dileep and Sarath