KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the plea filed by Sunil N S, alias Pulsar Suni, seeking suspension of the 20-year prison sentence imposed on him by an Ernakulam Sessions Court in the 2017 actor assault case.
A division bench comprising Justice V Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice K V Jayakumar heard arguments from senior advocate Sasthamangalam S Ajithkumar for Suni, special public prosecutor V Aja Kumar and advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the survivor.
Seeking suspension of the sentence pending appeal, Suni’s counsel submitted that he had already spent about eight-and-a-half years in custody, having remained in jail from his arrest in February 2017 until he was granted bail in 2024, before being taken back into custody after conviction. He argued that the appeals would take considerable time to conclude because of the voluminous records and evidence.
The defence contended that the prosecution’s case had been substantially weakened following the acquittal of actor Dileep, who was alleged to have conspired to execute the crime.
Opposing the plea, Vrinda Grover submitted that the conviction followed a lengthy trial based on extensive oral, documentary and electronic evidence and that no exceptional circumstances had been shown to justify suspending the sentence. She also informed the court that the survivor would be filing an appeal.