The court said the enquiry should be completed by the district and sessions judge within a month from 7 December.
Published Dec 07, 2023 | 4:50 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 07, 2023 | 5:06 PM
Dileep. (Supplied)
In a setback for Malayalam actor Dileep, the Kerala High Court on Thursday, 7 December, directed the Ernakulam District and Sessions Judge to file a report within a month after a fact-finding enquiry into the allegations raised by the survivor in the actor’s sexual assault case of 2017.
Justice K Babu passed the order based on a plea filed by the survivor who 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 that was 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 petitioner is at liberty to present written submissions before the district and sessions Judge. In the inquiry, if the commission of any offence is disclosed, the district and sessions judge shall proceed as provided in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973,” the court said, as reported by the Live Law.
Further, the High Court directed that the enquiry should be completed by the district and sessions judge within a month from 7 December.
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.
According to Live Law, the advocate submitted that on the first instance (9 January, 2018), two files were created in the memory card while it was in the custody of Angamali Judicial First Class Magistrate Court.
On the second instance (13 December, 2018 at 10:58 pm), three files were created in the memory card while it was in the custody of the District Principal Sessions Court and they were accessed on a device with the Android Operating System.
The third instance, as per the Counsel, was on 19 July, 2021 when 34 new files were created after being accessed through a Vivo mobile phone with Android OS.
Aggarwal said it had been established by the SFSL report that the hash value had been changed. He also stated the reason for the same as being illegal access during the period of the custody of the memory card in different courts.
Further, Agarwal submitted that the same would amount to offences under Sections 378 (theft), 405 r/w 408 (criminal breach of trust), 411 (Dishonestly receiving stolen property), and 425 (Mischief) of the IPC and Sections 66B (Punishment for dishonestly receiving stolen computer resource or communication device), 66E (Punishment for violation of privacy), and 67 (Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the IT Act, 2000, and Section 119 (Punishment for atrocities against women) of the Kerala Police Act.
He thus averred that the bar under Section 195(1)(b) r/w S 340 CrPC would not be applicable in the present case. He added that the survivor’s right to privacy had also been infringed in the present case.
Meanwhile, Dileep — the eighth accused in the case of hatching the criminal conspiracy behind the attack, recently moved a plea to stop the hearing in the plea regarding leakage of visuals of the incident.
The actor alleged that the prosecution was demanding an enquiry into the incident only to prolong the trial.
