KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has rejected a plea filed by Sunil NS alias Pulsar Suni seeking suspension of the 20-year rigorous imprisonment sentence imposed on him in the 2017 actor assault case, holding that the gravity of the offence, his criminal antecedents and larger public interest did not warrant his release on bail pending appeal.
A Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice KV Jayakumar dismissed Suni’s application on July 9, seeking suspension of the sentence awarded by the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court.
Suni, the first accused in the case, had approached the High Court seeking suspension of his sentence till the disposal of his appeal against the conviction. His counsel argued that he had already undergone more than eight years of incarceration and that the appeal would take considerable time for disposal.
The Bench observed that the principle of “bail is the rule and jail is the exception”, applicable while considering bail at the pre-conviction stage, does not apply in the same manner after conviction.
Referring to Supreme Court judgments, the court said that once a competent court records a finding of guilt, the presumption of innocence no longer survives and suspension of sentence requires strong and compelling reasons.
“Having regard to the role attributed to the applicant, the nature of the offence, the manner in which it was committed, the gravity and seriousness of the crime, the sentence imposed by the trial court, the criminal antecedents of the applicant in as many as 11 grave crimes, his alleged involvement in another criminal case while he was on bail in the present case, and his violation of the conditions of bail imposed by the Court, we are of the considered view that no exceptional circumstance has been made out warranting the suspension of the sentence,” the Bench said.
The court observed that the offence allegedly involved a planned sexual assault and recording of explicit visuals with the intention of defaming, harassing and traumatising the survivor.
It said the manner of commission of the offence reflected an “extraordinary degree of criminal depravity” and that its impact extended beyond the individual victim by affecting the dignity, bodily autonomy and sense of security of women.
Rejecting the contention that Suni had already spent a long period in custody, the court held that long incarceration by itself cannot be a ground for suspension of sentence in a case involving such a serious offence.
The Ernakulam Sessions Court convicted Suni and five others in December 2025 for offences including gang rape, conspiracy and offences under the Information Technology Act. The State has challenged the acquittal of some accused and sought enhancement of the sentence.