The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by Sunil NS, popularly known as Pulsar Soni, seeking suspension of his sentence in the 2017 actress assault case.
The Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court convicted Sunil, the first accused in the case, and five others last year on charges including gang rape, wrongful confinement and assault. All six were sentenced to 20 years in prison.
A bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar held that Sunil failed to provide exceptional or sufficient reasons to justify suspension of his sentence.
“…We are of the view that the applicant has not been able to point out any parental incapacity, apparent illegality or perversion in the judgment passed by the learned Sessions Judge. At this preliminary stage, we cannot conclude that the findings recorded by the learned Sessions Judge are so unreasonable or perverse as to justify suspension of execution of the judgment,” the court said.
The prosecution argued that Sunil was involved in carrying out a planned sexual assault on the actress and recording her nude photos to blackmail and intimidate her. She described the crime as a “calculated and deliberate act” that reflected an “extraordinary degree of criminal depravity”.
Sunil’s lawyer said he had already spent nearly eight years in prison before the court issued its ruling.
However, the Supreme Court said that considering the seriousness of the crime, Sunil’s criminal history, his involvement in other cases and his violation of bail conditions, there were no exceptional circumstances to stay the sentence.
While Sunil and five others were convicted, actor Dileep, who was summoned as the eighth accused and charged with criminal conspiracy, was acquitted by the sessions court. The Kerala government has challenged his acquittal in the Supreme Court.
