'Not every citizen in this country is treated equally before the law, ' mentioned a strongly worded social media post by the survivor in the 2017 Kerala actress assault case, amid the recent verdict pronounced by Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court. This is the first time she has reacted to the verdict in the case.
"At the end of the day, this verdict made me realise how strongly human judgement can shape decisions. I also know that every court does not function in the same way," the actress said.
The verdict:
All six convicts, Sunil A.K.A Pulsar Suni, Martin Antony, Manikandan B, Vijesh VP, Salim H and Pradeep, in the 2017 actress sexual assault case, were handed 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and Rs 50,000 fine. The convicts were sentenced under Section 376D (gang rape) and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy). The court ruled against a maximum penalty, arguing that 'there are no special circumstances that warrant life imprisonment for the accused'.
From circumstances that involved the resignation of two public prosecutors from the case to repeatedly requesting a proper investigation into the tampering of the memory card, the actress listed the reasons as to why she lost faith in the trial court.
She mentioned that she even wrote letters to the President and Prime Minister and requested that the court conduct the proceedings in an open court. "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," her post mentioned.
Regarding the verdict, Special Public Prosecutor V. Aja Kumar said the sentencing is disappointing and sends a wrong message to society. "This is the least sentence that can be given for these charges. The prosecution will recommend that the state government file an appeal in the case," the prosecutor said.
