# Kerala High Court refuses to suspend Martin Antony’s sentence in 2017 assault case 2026-08-06T02:25:41+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk The Kerala High Court's Division Bench of Justice V. Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice K.V. Jayakumar refused to suspend the sentence of Martin Antony, the second accused in the 2017 actor assault case, The Hindu reported. The court held there was prima facie evidence that Antony aided the crime and took part in the conspiracy, pointing to call records showing contact with co-accused N.S. Sunil, alias Pulsar, and a message sent shortly before a staged accident used to stop the survivor's car. Antony argued the prosecution had not adequately proved the case against him and that he was neither passenger, driver nor witness in the vehicle, and noted he has been in custody since 2017 and serving his sentence since December 2025. A Sessions Court had convicted six of ten accused in the case in 2025 on charges including gang rape and wrongful confinement. ## Indian Opinion Analysis A prima facie finding on an interim plea is not a final appellate ruling, and Antony's challenge to the call record evidence remains open for the later stages of the case. The report is procedural, setting out the court's own findings on contact records and the timing of the message without going beyond what the bench stated. The case's next hearing, and any appeal against this specific order, will show whether the prima facie finding survives. ## Coverage - www.thehindu.com Tags: Kerala High Court, Martin Antony Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/actor-assault-case-kerala-high-court-dismisses-plea-for-suspension-of-sentence-by-second-accused/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/actor-assault-case-kerala-high-court-dismisses-plea-for-suspension-of-sentence-by-second-accused/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.