Let Me Explain: Kerala actor assault – Why proving conspiracy is hard in Indian law

Not every citizen in this country is treated equally before the law.

Days after the verdict, this is what the woman actor sexually assaulted in 2017 had to say. Her words were not addressed to the court, lawyers, or the media. It was addressed to the public.

Six men were convicted of abducting and sexually assaulting her inside a moving vehicle. At the same time, actor Dileep, the man the prosecution accused had masterminded the crime, was acquitted of all conspiracy-related charges.

One verdict and two sharply different outcomes.

And almost immediately, Kerala was split down the middle.

For some, the conviction of the six men was proof that the justice system had worked. For others, Dileep’s acquittal, combined with what they saw as minimal punishment for the perpetrators, felt like a deep moral failure.

There were protests on the streets, outside film venues, and at film festivals and cultural events. Inside buses, where passengers asked for Dileep’s films to be switched off. And online, where many put forward questions or simply the hashtag avalkoppam - meaning ‘with her’.

Again and again, the same questions surfaced.

How can a crime be proven, but the conspiracy behind it disappears? How must one look at what transpired in court while reading the judgment?

The verdict has divided the state, not because people disagree on whether the survivor was assaulted. The court itself says the crime happened. But it's because people disagree on whether there was an acknowledgement of the whole truth.

So what exactly did the court say? What did it accept, and what did it reject? And why is proving criminal conspiracy so difficult in Indian courts?

Let me explain.

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