2017 actress assault case victim petitions Kerala HC for probe into unauthorized evidence access. Case involves alleged abduction and assault by Malayalam actor Dileep.
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Thiruvananthapuram: Recently, The victim of the 2017 actress assault case has made a significant move by petitioning the Kerala High Court, seeking a thorough investigation into the unauthorized access of vital evidence. This case revolves around the purported abduction and sexual assault of a well-known actress, reportedly masterminded by Malayalam cine actor Dileep.
The survivor’s recent petition primarily concerns the mishandling of a memory card containing footage of the distressing assault. This crucial piece of evidence was reportedly accessed, duplicated, and circulated without proper authorization while in the possession of the trial court. The unauthorized handling of this evidence forms the basis of the survivor’s request for a comprehensive investigation by a State police Special Investigation Team (SIT), under the supervision of the court.
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The survivor-actress has not only sought the initiation of an SIT probe but has also requested copies of the statements made by various individuals during a session’s judge-conducted inquiry into the unauthorized access.
In a recent decision, Justice K Babu addressed part of the survivor’s plea by instructing the sessions judge to provide the survivor with copies of these statements. However, the court has deferred the consideration of the request for an SIT investigation to a later date.
In 2017, the survivor, an actress, was reportedly abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving vehicle, allegedly orchestrated by Dileep. The legal proceedings stemming from this incident are ongoing, with the trial currently underway at the Ernakulam District and Sessions Court.
The push for an SIT probe comes after the actress moved the High Court in 2022, alleging unauthorized access to the memory card. Following her allegations, the High Court had previously directed the Ernakulam District and Sessions Judge to conduct a fact-finding enquiry.
Despite the enquiry being conducted, the survivor-actress found it necessary to return to the High Court, seeking a fairer, more transparent investigation process. She argues that the initial enquiry was neither “fair, free nor complete” and contends that she was unjustly excluded from the process, not even allowed to submit written contributions.
Represented by Senior Advocate Gaurav Agrawal, the survivor’s case was presented with an assertion that the initial enquiry was fundamentally flawed, pointing out that it was conducted in-camera without explicit instructions from the High Court.
ALSO READ: Kerala High Court Directs Session Court to Provide Leak Report in Actress Assault Case
Advocate Philip T Varghese, representing Dileep, raised concerns about the survivor’s intentions, particularly highlighting an incident where the fact-finding report was allegedly leaked to the media by the survivor.
The case is scheduled for further examination on May 30th.
