The Ernakulam District Sessions Court is set to pronounce the verdict in the sensational actor rape case on December 8, in which actor Dileep is an accused.
Mr. Dileep was tried for allegedly hatching a conspiracy with the first accused, N.S. Sunil, aka ‘Pulsur’ Suni, who allegedly raped the woman actor and videographed the criminal act. The actor was imprisoned for 84 days in the case. The prosecution’s case is that the accused raped the actor in a moving car on February 17, 2017.
The Ernakulam Principal Sessions Judge, Honey M. Varghese, will pronounce the judgment on the day, thus marking the end of one of the prolonged and sensational criminal trials in Kerala.
The trial in the case began in 2018. The proceedings were disrupted several times during the past years. The prosecution had to be stopped on a few occasions as the woman actor approached the higher courts twice, seeking the removal of the judicial officer considering the case.
The trial was stopped on two occasions when the special prosecutors resigned. Around two years were lost following the COVID-19-induced lockdown.
The prosecution, survivour and the accused had appealed against the various orders of the trial court on several occasions, which added to the delay in completing the trial.
The court had considered around 1,700 documents and 261 witnesses, including the prominent cinema actors. The trial in the case was held in-camera.
Here are the accused in the actor rape case
Sunil N. S. alias Pulsar Suni
Pulsar Suni, the first accused in the case is a driver. He is a native of Vengoor in Ernakulam. He was arrested on February 23, 2017. Suni was later released on September 20, 2024 on stringent bail conditions by the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court after being imprisoned for over seven years as an undertrial accused in the actor assault case. Suni was booked on the charges of gang rape, conspiracy, outraging the modesty of a woman, wrongful confinement, use of criminal force, destruction of evidence, taking and distributing obscene images under Indian Penal Code Sections 120 A, 120 B, 109, 376, 342, 204, and 201.
Martin Antony
Martin Antony, the second accused in the case, is a driver at a private film studio in Kochi. He has also been booked on the charges of gang rape, conspiracy, outraging the modesty of a woman, wrongful confinement, use of criminal force, destruction of evidence, taking and distributing obscene images under Indian Penal Code Sections 120 A, 120 B, 109, 376, 342, 204, and 201
Manikandan B.
Manikandan B, named as the third accused in the actor rape case, is an autorickshaw driver and was booked on the charges of gang rape, conspiracy, outraging the modesty of a woman, wrongful confinement, use of criminal force, destruction of evidence, taking and distributing obscene images under Indian Penal Code Sections 120 A, 120 B, 109, 376, 342, 204, and 201. He recently attempted suicide on the night of November 28, 2025, after he was taken into custody and let off by the Palarivattom police for allegedly causing public nuisance under the influence of alcohol.
Vijeesh V. P.
Vijeesh V.P, an electrician, is the fourth accused in the rape case. He was booked on the charges of gang rape, conspiracy, outraging the modesty of a woman, wrongful confinement, use of criminal force, destruction of evidence, taking and distributing obscene images under Indian Penal Code Sections 120 A, 120 B, 109, 376, 342, 204, and 201.
Salim H. alias Vadival Salim
Salim H., who is the fifth accused in the case, is a bus crew and was booked on the charges of gang rape, conspiracy, outraging the modesty of a woman, wrongful confinement, use of criminal force, destruction of evidence, taking and distributing obscene images under Indian Penal Code Sections 120 A, 120 B, 109, 376, 342, 204, and 201.
Pradeep
Pradeep, who is the sixth accused, is also a bus crew and was booked on the charges of gang rape, conspiracy, outraging the modesty of a woman, wrongful confinement, use of criminal force, destruction of evidence, taking and distributing obscene images under Indian Penal Code Sections 120 A, 120 B, 109, 376, 342, 204, and 201.
Charly Thomas
Charly Thomas, a bakery employee and the seventh accused in the case, was charged for harbouring the accused after the commission of the crime. He had provided accommodation for Suni and his accomplice in Coimbatore.
P. Gopalakrishnan alias Dileep
Actor Dileep is the eighth accused in the case. He was booked on the charges of gang rape, conspiracy, outraging the modesty of a woman, wrongful confinement, use of criminal force, destruction of evidence, taking and distributing obscene images under Indian Penal Code Sections 120 A, 120 B, 109, 376, 342, 204, and 201.
Sanilkumar alias Mesthiri Sanil
Sanil, who is the ninth accused, was charged for conspiring with Pulsar Suni in jail to extort money by threatening Dileep under IPC 506. He is also an accused in another POSCO case and the only one among the accused in the rape case who is still in jail.
Sarath
Sarath, an owner of a hotel in Aluva and a close friend of actor Dileep, is the fifteenth accused.
Others
While three other accused ‑ Vishnu, Vipin Lal, and police constable Aneesh ‑ turned approvers, two lawyers ‑ Pratheesh Chacko and Raju Joseph ‑ to whom Pulsur Suni had reportedly handed over the mobile phone in which the visuals of the rape were recorded, were later acquitted in the case.
