On Wednesday( 21st February) the Kerala High Court has issued an order to the Sessions Court, mandating the delivery of a report concerning an investigation into the leak of digital evidence to the victim of an assault case. This directive comes after allegations surfaced about unauthorized access and distribution of a memory card containing crucial evidence. The memory card in question held footage related to the 2017 assault of an actress, leading to a high-profile investigation.
KERALA: On Wednesday, the Kerala High Court directed the session court to inquire about the report of the victim of the 2017 actress assault case, concerning the claims of unauthorized access to the digital evidence involved in the case.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, responding to this request, instructed the Ernakulam District and Sessions Judge to provide the victim with a copy of the investigation report.
During a court session on Wednesday, Senior Advocate Gaurav Agrawal, representing the victim, informed the court that the Sessions Judge had concluded the investigation. He requested that the findings of the report be shared with his client.
Previously, on December 8, the High Court had directed the Ernakulam District and Sessions Judge with conducting an investigation into the survivor’s allegations about unauthorized access to a memory card. This card contained crucial footage of the assault incident.
In the case, which is being tried by the Ernakulam District and Sessions Court, later, the victim approached the High Court with concerns over the mishandling of the memory card evidence. She alleged it had been illicitly accessed, copied, and disseminated.
Despite a report from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) affirming the unauthorized leakage of the evidence, it was claimed that the trial court did not undertake appropriate actions in response.
This case has gathered attention partly because among the accused is the well-known Malayalam actor Dileep, who is alleged to have masterminded the assault on the actress as part of a personal vendetta.
The High Court’s examine into the matter revealed evidence of unauthorized access to the memory card on two separate occasions, based on discrepancies in hash values noted in multiple reports from the State Forensic Science Laboratory.
As a result of these findings, the court had previously directed the Ernakulam District and Sessions Judge to submit a detailed investigation into these allegations. Additionally, the High Court established detailed protocols for the handling of sexually explicit materials by law enforcement, the judiciary, and forensic examiners.
