Actor Assault case: Kerala HC directs sessions judge to give fact-finding report to survivor

The High Court also stated that a report copy shall be given to the survivor if the inquiry was completed within the stipulated time.

The complainant approached the court seeking a copy of the inquiry report.

The fact-finding inquiry was over in early January. Dileep, the eighth accused in the case, had sought to label the report as a confidential document, OnManorama reported.

Also Read: Setback for actor Dileep as Kerala HC seeks report on alleged unauthorised access of memory card in actor assault case

Dileep’s requests dismissed

Meanwhile, Dileep requested the court against handing over a copy of the inquiry report to the survivor. He demanded that if the complainant is given a copy, he should also be given one.

However, Justice Babu dismissed his requests.

With the High Court giving a green signal to hand over the copy of the fact-finding report to the survivor, the latter will get a clear idea of who accessed the memory card.

The survivor must file an application with the District Principal Sessions Judge for a copy of the report.

In December last year, the survivor sought a court-monitored investigation into the alleged leakage of visuals from the memory card related to the incident, and the change in hash value of the memory card kept in the court custody.

The court directed the District and Session Judge to seek the assistance of any agency, including the police, for conducting the enquiry.

The examination was held at the Thiruvananthapuram Forensic Lab, and it was found that the hash value of the memory card had changed, OnManorama reported.

The SFSL report also revealed that the memory card was accessed illegally several times after court hours and at night.

The hash value changes when a memory card is used in different devices to access its content.

In 2022, after reports emerged that the footage of the survivor’s assault was leaked, the survivor approached the Kerala High Court seeking an investigation into this.

She also sought an inquiry into the change in the hash value of the memory card of the device where the visuals of the incident were allegedly stored.

Appearing on behalf of the survivor, Advocate Gaurav Agarwal submitted that the memory card had been accessed three times while in court custody.

Also Read: Crime Branch seeks nod to hold R Sreelekha in contempt for remarks on Dileep