Kerala actor rape case: court slams survivor’s counsel for her conduct during trial, lawyer terms it unfortunate

Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Judge Honey M. Varghese, who delivered the verdict in the Kerala actor rape case, on Monday (January 12, 2026) criticised the counsel of the survivor over her alleged absence during most of the days of the trial.

The court made the remarks while considering a contempt of court petition filed by the survivor in the case against former Director General of Police (DGP) R. Sreelekha for her public comments favouring actor Dileep, who was the 8th accused in the case.

T.B. Mini, the survivor’s advocate, was absent in the court when the court made the observations against her.

The judge, while pointing out her absence, alleged that the survivor’s counsel had appeared in the court for less than 10 days. Her presence was limited to about half an hour on days when she attended the proceedings, the judge said in the open court. The judge went on to state that the lawyer was often found sleeping during the limited time she was present in the court. She also stated that the lawyer seemed to have considered the court a resting place. The lawyer was also absent on December 12, 2025 when the court awarded punishment to the convicts, court sources pointed out.

Dileep was acquitted by the court against all the criminal charges levelled against him. It found six others—N.S. Sunil, alias Pulsur Suni, second accused Martin Antony, third accused B. Manikandan, fourth accused V.P. Vijeesh, fifth accused H. Salim, alias Vadiwal Salim, and sixth accused Pradeep—guilty on all charges levelled against them, including gang rape.

Ms. Mini rejected the allegation by the judge that she was present only for less than 10 days of the trial. “I was actively present during the hearings and had worked closely with the public prosecutors after I became the counsel of the survivor,” she said. Terming the comments by the court ‘unfortunate’ and ‘against the decorum expected from the judiciary,’ the lawyer said that she could not appear for the proceedings in the trial court on Monday as she was appearing before the Kerala High Court in another case. “However, I had deputed two of my juniors and they were ready with the arguments,” she said. She recalled that two Special Public Prosecutors, who had appeared in the case earlier, had submitted their resignation alleging “uncongenial atmosphere” in the court.