The Nation Witness A Mass Awakening In The 2017 Kerala Actress Assault Case.

Thiruvananthapuram; December 2025: Earlier this week, Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court

sentenced 06 convicts to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, found evidently guilty in the 2017 Kerala Actress Assault Case. The Sessions Court had earlier acquitted Malayalam actor Dileep, the 08th accused, in the 2017 case.

The survivor has now broken her silence, while issuing her first public response after the judgment, stating that “I didn’t trust this court“. In a detailed social media post, she recalled her nearly 09 years long legal battle, saying, “After 8 years, 9 months, and 23 days, I finally saw a small ray of light at the end of a very long and painful journey. 06 of the accused have been convicted, and for that, I am GRATEFUL!!“.

She further said, “This moment is dedicated to those who chose to call my pain a lie and this case a made-up story. I hope you are at peace with yourselves today!! And to those who still keep saying that Accused No.1 was my personal driver, this is completely false!!”

While clarifying the alleged lies, the survivor said that the accused No. 1 was not a personal driver or employee, but a random driver assigned to her for a 2016 movie. “He was not my driver, not my employee, and not someone I knew. He was a random person who happened to be assigned as a driver for a movie I worked on in 2016!! Ironically, I met him only once or twice during that time, and never again, until the day this crime happened!! Please stop spreading false stories!!” wrote the survivor on her Instagram handle.

While pointing to the anomalies in the case handling since 2020, the actress wrote, “This verdict may surprise many people, but it did not surprise me. As early as 2020, I began to feel that something was not right. Even the prosecution noticed changes in the way the case was being handled, especially when it came to one particular accused“.

In the statement posted on her Instagram handle, the survivor described her long, emotional struggle, repeated failed attempts to change judges, and a final realisation that “not every citizen in this country is treated equally before the law. Over the years, I approached the High Court and the Supreme Court multiple times, clearly stating that I did not trust this court. Every request to move this case away from the same judge was dismissed. After years of pain, tears, and emotional struggle, I have come to a painful realisation: ‘NOT EVERY CITIZEN IN THIS COUNTRY IS TREATED EQUALLY BEFORE THE LAW“, wrote the actress.

She further expressed gratitude to those who supported her throughout the legal process, “At the end of the day, this verdict made me realise how strongly human judgment can shape decisions. I also know that every court does not function in the same way! My heartfelt thanks to everyone who stood by me throughout this long journey!!”

The actress also highlighted the reasons for losing faith in the trial court. She outlined the alleged significant issues with the judicial process. She alleged in a statement on her Instagram,

“These are the reasons why I lost faith in this trial court. My fundamental rights were not protected. The most important evidence in this case, the memory card was found to have been illegally accessed three times while it was in court custody. Two public prosecutors resigned from this case, stating clearly that the court environment had become hostile towards the prosecution. Both of them personally told me not to expect justice from this court, as they felt it was biased. I repeatedly requested a proper investigation into the tampering of the memory card. However, the investigation report was never given to me until I kept asking again and again. While I was fighting for a fair trial, the accused filed a petition requesting that this same judge continue to hear the case. This raised even more serious doubts in my mind. l even wrote letters to the Honourable President of India and the Honourable Prime Minister of India, expressing my concerns and seeking intervention. I requested the court to conduct the proceedings in an open court, so that the public and media could be present and see for themselves what was happening. This request was denied“.

The case pertained to an actress who worked in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu films and was allegedly abducted and molested inside her car by a group of men who forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017. The verdict delivered by Justice Honey M Varghese found the accused guilty of kidnapping with intent to rape (Section 366 of the Indian Penal Code), criminal conspiracy (IPC 120B) and gang rape (IPC 376D).

Each convict has also been fined Rs 50,000, and failure to pay will result in an additional one-year imprisonment.

This case has not only shaken the legal judicature, but has also evoked a mass awakening. On 13th December 2025, passengers of a KSRTC Bus travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Kalpetta got the bus halted for screening a film of Dileep, the principal accused of the 2017 Rape Case.

A group of women passengers objected to the screening, citing the actor’s association with the actress assault case. Following the protest, the bus staff stopped the film. However, the situation escalated when some male passengers allegedly intervened in support of the actor, leading to a heated verbal exchange on the bus. Lekshmi R Shekhar, a passenger on the bus, shared details of the incident with media representatives on Sunday – 14th December 2025.

She said, “Yesterday, I was travelling from Kesavadasapuram to Adoor. My son and husband were with me. On that KSRTC bus, the film Parakkum Thalika, starring Dileep, was being played. The movie was played at a very loud volume. Watching and listening to that film, in the present circumstances, and

having to endure it for a 2.5-hour journey on a KSRTC bus was extremely uncomfortable for me. So, I raised this issue with the conductor and asked that the movie be switched off. I also told him that

otherwise, I would get off at the next stop. Accordingly, I decided to get down at Vattappara. When we say we stand with the survivor, this is how we must act in practice. I asked all the passengers on the bus whether they were interested in watching this movie. Except for two people, all the women clearly said they were not interested in watching it“.

Lekshmi’s objection was supported by the other passengers, but a couple of people opposed it, citing the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court verdict in the case. She said,

“Not only that, they all stood with me and told the conductor that the movie should be switched off. They said they were not interested in being forced to watch it, and therefore, it must be turned off. All of us said we stand with the survivor. Respecting the opinion of the majority, the conductor switched off the TV. After that, one or two people who appeared to be travelling after consuming alcohol created an issue, saying that the case has already been settled in court. But only a lower court has given a verdict in this matter; the case is still pending in higher courts. Until the survivor gets justice, every self-respecting woman must stand with her”.

Team Maverick.