Supreme Court Grants Bail to Pulsar Suni in Bhavana Menon Assault Case After 7 Years in Jail
"Co-accused Actor Dileep Already Out on Bail; Court Cites Prolonged Imprisonment and Delays in Case Proceedings"
Photo: Manorama
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Sunil NS (Pulsar Suni), the main accused in the 2017 sexual assault case involving South actress Bhavana Menon. Malayalam actor Dileep is also an accused in the case.
Judges Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal noted that Suni has been in jail for over seven years, and the co-accused (Dileep) in the same case has already been granted bail.
The court stated that considering the prolonged period of imprisonment and the unlikely swift conclusion of the case, there is sufficient ground to release the appellant on bail. The appellant should be produced before the lower court within a week for bail proceedings, and the state’s side should also be heard before finalizing the bail conditions.
Suni was arrested on February 23, 2017, and has been in jail since, repeatedly denied bail.
Suni filed for bail ten times in the High Court and twice in the Supreme Court. The High Court even fined him ₹25,000 for submitting multiple bail petitions.
The incident involving Pulsar Suni occurred on February 17, 2017. At that time, popular Malayalam actress Bhavana was in her car after a shoot when she was kidnapped by a group of men. Four individuals assaulted her for nearly two hours.
Some of the perpetrators filmed the assault to blackmail the actress. Despite the ordeal, the actress survived. The Kerala Police arrested seven out of the ten accused, with Pulsar Suni being the main accused. Actor Dileep, accused of orchestrating the attack, was also arrested but later granted bail.
The incident sparked widespread concerns about women’s safety in the Malayalam film industry. Under pressure, the Kerala government formed a three-member committee, known as the Hema Committee, headed by retired High Court Judge K. Hema, former actress Sharada, and retired IAS officer KB Valsala Kumari.
The committee took two years to compile its report, interviewing numerous actors, technicians, directors, producers, and members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) to understand the challenges faced by women in the industry.
On December 31, 2019, the Justice Hema Committee submitted its findings to the government. The report, released on August 18, 2024, revealed that women in the Malayalam film industry are often asked for sexual favors in exchange for work and are not provided with basic facilities like toilets on film sets.
