Court raps survivor's counsel in actress assault case

The long and bruising legal journey of the 2017 abduction and sexual assault case involving a Malayalam film actress took yet another contentious turn on Monday, with the Principal District and Sessions Court, Ernakulam, strongly criticising the conduct of Advocate TB Mini, who represented the survivor during the trial.

- AM Abdussalam

Sessions Judge Honey M Varghese expressed serious displeasure over what was described as the counsel's lack of diligence during the trial proceedings.

The judge reportedly observed that Advocate Mini had appeared in court for fewer than IO days throughout the lengthy trial.

Even on those occasions, the court noted, her presence rarely extended beyond half an hour. In particularly sharp comments, the judge remarked that the advocate often appeared to be asleep during hearings, treating the courtroom as a resting place, only to later allege that her submissions were not heard or considered by the court.