Kerala High Court To Hear Actor Dileep's Pre-Arrest Bail Plea On February 2: Interim Order To Continue

The Kerala High Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing of anticipatory bail plea moved by actor Dileep in the recent case for allegedly conspiring to kill police officers investigating the sensational 2017 sexual assault case.Concurrently, Dileep is facing trial as the alleged mastermind of the abduction and the sexual assault of a female actress in a moving car in 2017.Justice Gopinath P. granted the adjournment till February 2, upon being informed by Director General of Prosecution T.A. Shaji that examination of digital evidence was pending. Shaji also added that the report will be submitted today in a sealed cover. Senior Advocate B. Raman Pillai appearing for Dileep argued that in that case, the interim order may continue till the next hearing date. Upon the prosecution agreeing to this, the Court extended the interim order till next Wednesday, February 2. In the elaborate special physical sitting of the case that transpired last Saturday, the Court had directed the prosecution to refrain from arresting Dileep till the next hearing date, i.e., today. Meanwhile, Dileep and the other accused were directed to appear before the police for interrogation at Crime Branch Office on 23rd, 24th and 25th January 2022 from 9 am till 8 pm. They were given strict instructions to fully co-operate with the probe and that any violation of the conditions imposed in the interim order will invite severe consequences.In its statement filed recently, the Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch had vehemently opposed the grant of bail citing that this was perhaps the first time in the history of the State that a rape quotation was given to a criminal gang and where a person accused of a serious offence hatched a criminal conspiracy to murder the investigation officers.In his reply statement, Dileep had made several allegations against director Balachandrakumar and accused him of extortion. Previously, the prosecution had given an undertaking that the actor will not be arrested till 21st January. In one of the earlier hearings of the case, Dileep had claimed the entire case to be a 'mockery'.Earlier this month, director Balachandra Kumar had released audio recordings of people including Dileep trying to sabotage the case and obstruct the trial. In his statement, he added that Dileep and his men tried to endanger the lives of the officials.Following his statements, the trial court had collected a confidential statement from the director.Consequently, Dileep and five men were booked under Sections 116 (abetment), 118 (concealing design to commit offence), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) r/w Section 34 (common intention) of IPC. The new case was filed under non-bailable sections.Apprehending arrest, Dileep, his brother P. Sivakumar and his brother-in-law T.N.Suraj have approached the Court praying for anticipatory bail.The applicants had claimed that they are innocent and have been falsely implicated in the said offences. They have asserted that the registration of the said FIR directly by the Crime Branch is 'nothing but a vindictive and retaliatory act' of Crime Branch DySp Baiju Paulose.This is in light of the fact that Dileep had recently initiated contempt of court proceedings against Paulose for allegedly causing obstruction to the administration of justice. The Additional Special Judge has issued notice in this petition on 4th January.Dileep had further claimed in his application that his 80-year old mother is very sick and suffers from old age ailments including Alzheimer's. He added that his elder daughter is an MBBS student and his younger daughter is aged 3.Simultaneously, the actor has also filed a plea before the High Court seeking a gag order in his trial in the assault case occurring at the lower court.In that case, the Court has directed the State Police Chief to enquire into the allegations raised by the actor that the media was flouting the trial court's order restricting the publication of matters related to the case till the conclusion of the trial.Case Title: P Gopalakrishnan alias Dileep & Ors. v State of Kerala & Ors.

Kerala High Court To Hear Actor Dileep's Pre-Arrest Bail Plea On February 2: Interim Order To Continue

Hannah M Varghese

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