A Kerala sessions court on December 8 acquitted Malayalam film actor Dileep in the 2017 case of the abduction and gang rape of a fellow actor, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove that he conspired to orchestrate the crime. The six-member gang, that carried out the assault, was convicted of gang rape and other serious charges.
Judge Honey M. Varghese delivered the judgement before a packed courtroom. Dileep and two other accused, who were cleared in the case, were released after their bail bonds were cancelled. Six people were convicted in the case. They will be sentenced on December 12. They were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, wrongful confinement, sexual assault, disrobing, attempt to confine, gang rape under the Indian Penal Code, and violations of the Information Technology Act for recording and publishing sexually explicit material.
The police had alleged that Dileep hired the gang over a personal grudge. A South Indian actress was abducted and sexually assaulted in her car for two hours in February 2017 by a gang led by Pulsar Suni. The police soon arrested Suni and filed a chargesheet against seven persons. Actor Dileep was arrested in July that year for alleged conspiracy. The prosecution claimed that the complainant had informed Dileep’s first wife, actress Manju Warrier, of his affairs. Dileep was granted bail in October 2017. On December 8, 2025, he was cleared of the charges of conspiracy, gang rape, destruction of evidence and IT Act violations. Dileep claimed that the allegations against him stemmed from Manju Warrier’s speech in 2017 and were part of a police-driven effort to destroy his career.
The verdict sent shockwaves through women’s groups and the Malayalam film industry, where the case had triggered a rare public reckoning on sexual abuse and power. “This feels like the denial of justice,” activist and Malayalam dubbing artiste Bhagyalakshmi said, adding, “Despite the volume of evidence and witnesses, how could this outcome happen? We won’t believe claims of innocence.” The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), which was formed after the assault case, sharply criticised the collapse of the conspiracy case.