The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Kerala government regarding the third bail plea filed by Sunil NS, also known as ‘Pulsar’ Suni, an accused in the 2017 Kerala actress assault case, in which Malayalam actor Dileep is also implicated.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih issued notice to the State of Kerala and stayed the High Court’s directive requiring Suni to deposit ₹25,000 as costs.
“Issue notice. In the meantime, the order imposing costs remains stayed,” the bench ordered.
The matter has been scheduled for further consideration on August 27. Advocates K Parameshwar, Sriram Parakkat, and Satheesh Mohanan represented Suni.
The Bench was hearing Suni’s third bail plea before the apex court. The Kerala High Court had previously dismissed Suni’s tenth overall bail application on June 3, ordering him to pay ₹25,000 in costs for repeatedly filing bail applications with different lawyers.
In his appeal to the Supreme Court against that order, Suni acknowledged the seriousness of the alleged crime but argued that the criminal trial process should not become his punishment.
Suni also highlighted that his family has been ostracized due to his involvement in the case and that his aged mother is in poor health.
Suni is among those accused of conspiring to abduct and sexually assault a prominent film actress in 2017. The actress was abducted, driven around in a car, photographed, and sexually assaulted, allegedly at actor Dileep’s behest.
Suni was arrested in February 2017 and has remained in jail since then as the first accused in the case. He first sought bail from the Kerala High Court in March 2022, which was denied. He then approached the Supreme Court for relief, but in July 2022, the Court declined to grant him bail. However, the Supreme Court indicated that Suni could renew his bail application before the High Court if the trial was not concluded within a reasonable time.
Suni subsequently filed another bail application with the High Court, which was rejected on March 6, 2023, due to the gravity of the offense. He challenged this decision before the Supreme Court, which denied him bail for the second time in April last year.
This current application marks his third round of bail pleas.
