Kerala HC Rejects Pulsar Suni’s Plea to Suspend Sentence

In view of Pulsar Suni’s defeat in the 2017 actor assault case, the Kerala High Court rejected his plea to stay his sentence pending the disposal of his appeal.

The Division Bench, comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice KV Vijayakumar, held that there were no exceptional circumstances requiring suspension of sentence. With the plea rejected, Suni will continue to serve his 20-year rigorous imprisonment and his appeal against the conviction will remain pending before the Supreme Court.

The case relates to the abduction and sexual assault of a Malayalam actor in Kochi in February 2017. The attack was allegedly filmed inside a moving vehicle, making it one of Kerala’s most high-profile criminal cases. In January 2026, the court found Pulsar Suni and the other defendants guilty and sentenced Suni to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.

The case also attracted much attention after Malayalam actor Dileep was named as an accused in the alleged conspiracy related to the attack. However, the trial court acquitted him in January 2026, concluding that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. But the acquittal did not end the public debate over his alleged role.

In his appeal, Suni argued that the mobile phone allegedly used to record the attack was never found, and that the prosecution’s claim that the images were recorded in the absence of the device could not be defended. He claimed that the SIM card allegedly used during the crime was registered in the name of another person, but this person was neither accused nor questioned during the investigation.

Suni also stated that he did not accept the trial court’s argument that the delay in collecting samples for DNA testing increased the possibility of tampering with evidence.

The remaining convicts also appealed their convictions before the Supreme Court. The appeals of the fifth accused Vadival Salim and the sixth accused Pradeep are currently pending in the court.