India, July 24 -- The Kerala High Court has declined to suspend the sentence of two accused in the 2017 actress assault case, in view of the seriousness of the crime committed by them and the manner in which it was carried out.

A bench of justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar also took into account "the larger considerations of public interest, the societal impact of the offence, and the need to preserve public confidence in the administration of criminal justice", to deny the relief to the two accused.

The order came while dismissing the separate pleas by Saleem H and Pradeep, accused number 5 and 6, respectively, in the case. The court said that on going through the judgment and the materials placed on record, it was of the ...