Kerala actor assault case: High Court rejects prime accused Sunil’s plea to suspend jail term
The Kerala High Court has denied a plea for sentence suspension from N.S. Sunil, the prime accused in a 2017 actor assault case. The court cited the gravity of the crimes and the accused's criminal history as reasons for maintaining the 20-year prison sentence.
Why it matters
This ruling reinforces judicial stance on crimes against women and the importance of bodily autonomy in the Indian legal system.
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (July 14, 2026) rejected the plea for suspension of sentence by N.S. Sunil, a.k.a ‘Pulsar’ Suni, the first accused in the actor assault case of 2017.
A Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan and K.V. Jayakumar held that the finding of the Ernakulam Sessions Court was reasonable and that there were no grounds to justify the suspension of the petitioner’s sentence. The court considered the nature of the offence, the manner of commission, the seriousness of the crime, the sentence imposed by the sessions court, and the criminal history of the accused in 11 crimes. It also assessed his alleged involvement in another criminal case while he was on bail in this case and the violation of the conditions of bail imposed by the court while deciding on the suspension of sentence.
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