Kerala actor rape case: High Court issues notice to Dileep, others after govt challenges acquittal

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) issued notices to actor Dileep and others in the 2017 actor rape case, a fortnight after the Kerala government filed a petition challenging their acquittal. 

The government had in its appeal also sought enhancement of the punishment awarded to the six convicts in the case.

The government’s contention was that the acquittal of Mr. Dileep and three others by the Ernakulam Sessions Court was “illegal and contrary to the evidence on record. The judgment was illegal and unsustainable, and liable to be set aside and modified”.

Moreover, the sentence awarded was “highly disproportionate and inadequate, considering the nature of the offences, the manner of execution, and the terror created in society,” the government submitted in its plea.

It further argued that the trial court “gravely erred” in law and on facts, and failed to “undertake a comprehensive and holistic evaluation of the prosecution evidence in its entirety” against all the accused who were charged with the same offences, for being members of the criminal conspiracy.