SC grants bail to ‘Pulsar’ Suni: All you need to know

'Pulsar' Suni, the prime accused in the Kerala actress assault case, was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Tuesday citing delays. Who is he, and what is his alleged role in orchestrating this heinous crime?

A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court granted 'Pulsar Suni' bail, citing the length of the trial and the unlikelihood that it would conclude soon.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (September 17) granted bail to Sunil NS, better known as ‘Pulsar’ Suni, the prime accused in the assault of a popular Kerala actress, citing his prolonged incarceration and the slow progress of the trial.

What is the case against Suni?

On February 17, 2017, a leading Malayalam film actress was abducted and sexually assaulted in her own car by a group of men while travelling from her home in Thrissur to Kochi. Among the alleged assailants was Suni, the main accused who masterminded the plot, and people he had recruited. Suni worked as a driver, ferrying actors between engagements.

Shock and outrage spread across the state as disturbing details of the incident emerged, including the fact that it had been filmed in a purported attempt to blackmail the survivor. Six of the accused were arrested within days. Suni, who went on the run, was remanded to judicial custody on February 23.

The Kerala police’s subsequent investigation revealed that Suni had allegedly carried out the crime on the behest of Dileep, one of Malayalam cinema’s top actors. Dileep was said to have been infuriated by the actress’s hand in the breakdown of his first marriage, and thus had plotted to get back at her. He was named an accused and remanded to judicial custody on July 10, 2017. The trial began in 2020. Dileep is currentlly out on bail.

The 2017 assault spurred the formation of the Women in Cinema Collective, a grouping of women actors, producers, directors and technicians in the Malayalam industry. In July 2017, the Kerala government formed the Justice Hema Committee to investigate issues of sexual harassment and pervasive gender inequality in the Malayalam film industry. The committee submitted its findings to the government in December 2019, a redacted version of which was released last month. The report provides a damning indictment of the discrimination and exploitation faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.

Also Read | What Justice Hema Committee report says, why its release was delayed

So, why did the SC grant Suni bail?

A two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal took note of the seven-and-half years Suni had been incarcerated in the case. It further noted that there were 269 witnesses whose testimonies added up to over 1,800 pages. The Bench held: “Considering long incarceration and that the trial is not likely to be concluded (soon), a case is made out for enlarging appellant on bail.”

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The Court also pointed to the fact that the other accused in the case had already been granted bail, and the general delay in trial proceedings caused by the cross-examination of the investigating officer by Dileep’s lawyer extending over 87 days between February 15 and September 10, 2024.

The SC has ordered that Suni be produced before the trial court within a week to finalise his bail conditions.

Notably, this is not the first time that Suni has applied for bail. His lawyers have filed as many as ten bail applications only one of which were granted — in April 2023 for Suni to perform his father’s last rites. On June 3, the Kerala High Court denied Suni bail and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 for repeatedly filing bail applications via different lawyers. The apex court has upheld this fine. This is the third time Suni has moved the SC for bail.