Judge Honey Varghese: At the Principal and Sessions Court, it was only the fourth or fifth case of the day; numerous others were still pending. However, Judge Honey paid close attention to the woman and listened intently. She even permitted her to take a quick break so she could bring pictures of the torture. The judge, who had up until that point managed to strike a balance between sternness and friendliness. When the woman returned and put the pictures in front of her, obviously unsettled by the images.

Judge Honey Varghese recently rendered a decision in what is unquestionably the most high-profile case of her career to date: the horrific February 17, 2017, sexual assault of a well-known female actor. She found five people guilty of kidnapping and sexually abusing the actor, including petty criminal Pulsar Suni. However, she cleared well-known Malayalam actor Dileep of any involvement in the criminal conspiracy, a decision that would likely cast doubt on the trial’s fairness.

Why does Judge Honey Varghese face backlash after the Judgement?
The judge has faced just as much public attention during the trial as Dileep and the survivor. This is due to the survivor’s repeated requests to have her case moved from Judge Honey’s court to the Kerala High Court and Supreme Court. It was evident from the survivor’s appeals that the judge’s handling of the case had re-traumatized her.

What happened in court that February morning is all the more remarkable because of this history. The victim of domestic abuse was given plenty of time and space to speak by Judge Honey. Additionally, the court spoke to the defendant’s attorneys on the victim’s behalf, stating that the woman’s main goal was to have her sentiments honored. Compared to her replies in the actor assault case, Honey Varghese’s sympathetic manner appeared to be very different. In recent years, there has been intense public and media scrutiny of the judge’s background, including her upbringing in a communist family, her active participation in the communist movement during her college years, and allegations that her husband was involved in a case involving torture in detention.

Also Read: Actress Assault Case: 28 Key Figures Who Changed Their Statements

Now that the verdict has been passed, it is very important to look at the controversies behind Judge Honey. This includes charges of political bias and the prolonged dispute in the actor assault case regarding her concealment of a 2020 forensic report demonstrating that the memory card containing the assault visuals had been accessed illegally.

Who is Judge Honey Varghese?
Honey Varghese is the daughter of M.M. Varghese, the CPI(M) district secretary of Thrissur. She began her legal career in Thrissur as a junior to Advocate K.B. Mohandas and continued practicing in the district until 2012. That year, she was directly appointed as a District and Sessions Judge. When the High Court assigned her to oversee the high-profile actress assault case, she was serving as the judge of the CBI Special Court in Ernakulam. In November 2021, she was promoted to Judge of the Ernakulam Principal and Sessions Court.

In December 2022, a video of Judge Honey Varghese speaking at a public event surfaced online and quickly went viral. Her comments from that event are now circulating widely again on social media. In her speech, she said, “The prosecutor’s job is not to punish all the accused.” She further explained that a prosecutor’s responsibility is toward society, adding that if an accused person is eligible for consideration, the prosecutor must acknowledge it. She also noted that many prosecutors hesitate to do so out of fear of being blamed. These old remarks have resurfaced following the recent verdict in the actress assault case. As the judgment gained public attention, many social media users began comparing her 2022 statements with the decision she delivered in the case.

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