Kochi: The Kerala High Court refused to stay the execution of the sentence issued against two accused in the 2017 actress assault case, given the seriousness of the crime they committed and the manner in which it was carried out.
A bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar also took into account “larger considerations of public interest, societal impact of the crime and the need to maintain public confidence in the administration of criminal justice”, in denying relief to the accused.
The order came while dismissing separate petitions filed by Saleem H and Pradeep, accused Nos. 5 and 6 respectively in the case.
The court said that after reviewing the judgment and the materials on record, it was apparent that there was sufficient evidence on record to prove the alleged conspiracy between the six accused and that they executed their plan meticulously.
“Prima facie, it appears that the applicants aided and assisted in the commission of the crime and shared common intention with all the conspirators,” the bench said.
The two defendants had requested the suspension of their 20-year prison sentence during their appeal against their conviction and punishment.
The Supreme Court held that the accused were unable to point out any clear defect, clear illegality or deviation in the judgment of the Sessions Judge convicting and sentencing them.
“At this preliminary stage, we cannot conclude that the findings recorded by the session judge are so unreasonable or perverse as to justify suspension of execution of the sentence,” she said.
The Supreme Court had on July 9 refused to suspend the sentence of Sunil NS, also known as Pulsar Soni, the main accused in the case.
The court sitting on December 12 last year had sentenced six people to 20 years in prison, including Sunil, Saleem and Pradeep, on charges of gang rape.
Actor Dileep and three other accused were acquitted in the case.
The case relates to the kidnapping and sexual assault of a multilingual actress in a moving car while she was traveling from Thrissur to Kochi on February 17, 2017.
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