The Supreme Court today said that it keen to know if there was a need to supplement witness in the matter pertaining to the trial against Malayalam actor Dileep in the case where he is alleged of assaulting an actress.
A Bench of Justices” Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Dipankar Datta have asked Dileep to put his point on the state seeking to examine another 40 odd witnesses, by tomorrow.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who presented the case of Dileep has requested the Court to pass some appropriate direction for the trial to end soon.
The state Government Counsel questioned as to how could an accused complain about delays when there are so many witnesses to be examined, to which Justice Dinesh Maheswari asked why supplementation of witnesses’ statements? There must be some methodology.
The matter will be heard next by the top court on Friday, February 17.
Last year in September, the Supreme Court had extended the deadline for conclusion of the trial in the sexual assault case to January 31 this year.
The trial is still going on till date. Dileep and his associates are being tried for conspiring to set the wheels of a revenge crime in motion against a female actor in the Malayalam film industry, by having her abducted, sexually assaulted, and photographed.
In July 2017, Dileep was arrested and charged under various offences under the IPC, including Sections 366 (kidnapping), 120B (criminal conspiracy) , and 376D (gangrape). He was subsequently released on bail.