Kochi: The Kerala High Court has refused to suspend the prison sentences of two more convicts in the 2017 actress assault case, citing the gravity of the offence and the manner in which it was committed.

A division bench comprising Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar also considered "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", while rejecting the plea for relief.

The order was passed while dismissing separate petitions filed by Saleem H and Pradeep, accused numbers five and six respectively in the case.

After examining the trial court's judgment and the evidence placed on record, the High Court observed that there was, at first glance, sufficient material to indicate the existence of a conspiracy involving all six accused and that the plan had been carried out in a coordinated manner.

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"Prima facie, it appears that the applicants (Saleem and Pradeep) had assisted and aided in the commission of the crime, and shared the common intention with all the conspirators," the bench said.

The two convicts had sought suspension of their 20-year jail terms pending the hearing of their appeals challenging their conviction and sentence.

However, the High Court held that they had failed to demonstrate any apparent defect, legal error or perversity in the Sessions Court's verdict.

"At this interlocutory stage, we are unable to conclude that the findings recorded by the Sessions Judge are so unreasonable or perverse as to justify suspension of the execution of the sentence," it said.

Earlier, on July 9, the High Court had also rejected a similar plea filed by Sunil N.S., alias Pulsar Suni, the prime accused in the case.

On December 12 last year, the Sessions Court sentenced six people, including Sunil, Saleem and Pradeep, to 20 years' imprisonment after convicting them of gang rape.

Actor Dileep and three other accused were acquitted in the case.

The case stems from the abduction and sexual assault of a multilingual actress inside a moving vehicle while she was travelling from Thrissur to Kochi on February 17, 2017. (PTI)