Actress Assault Case Survivor Opposes Promotion of Judge Honey M. Varghese
The survivor of the 2017 actress assault case has formally requested that Judge Honey M. Varghese be denied a promotion to the High Court. Expressing deep concerns over the handling of her case, the survivor alleged that she has been denied justice and raised alarm over the reported leakage of sensitive evidence, specifically the video footage of the assault.
In a formal petition submitted to the President of India and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the survivor outlined her grievances. Copies of the representation have also been sent to the Union Home Minister, the Union Law Minister, and the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court. The survivor explicitly stated that she believes Judge Varghese, who presided over the case in the special CBI court, was complicit in the alleged illegal examination of the memory card containing the assault footage.
The assault, which occurred in a moving car in 2017, involved several high-profile individuals, including actor Dileep, who were arrested in connection with the crime. Following the survivor’s request for the case to be heard by a female judge, the High Court appointed Honey M. Varghese to the trial court in 2019.
The trial concluded on December 8, 2025, after eight years of proceedings. While the court sentenced six individuals directly involved in the crime to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, four others, including the eighth accused, Dileep, were acquitted. The survivor has previously expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict and has raised multiple objections regarding the conduct of the presiding judge throughout the trial.
The controversy comes in the wake of the High Court Collegium’s recent recommendation to elevate Judge Honey M. Varghese to the position of a High Court Judge. The Collegium has recommended five principal district judges for elevation, a process that requires final approval from the Supreme Court Collegium and the President of India. Judge Varghese is currently serving as the Principal Sessions Judge in Alappuzha. The other judges recommended alongside her include P.S. Sasikumar (Thrissur), K.K. Balakrishnan (Ernakulam), Harikumar (Pathanamthitta), and S. Naseer (Thiruvananthapuram).