Actor assault case: Kerala HC dismisses survivor's plea against fact-finding report on memory card examination
By Deepu Mohan | First Published Oct 14, 2024, 10:37 AM ISTThe High Court dismissed the survivor's petition against the unauthorized examination of a memory card in the actress assault case. The court found no legal basis for the challenge while the survivor argued that previous inquiries were inadequate.
Kochi: The High Court has dismissed a petition filed by the survivor in the actress assault case, challenging the unauthorized examination of a memory card containing footage related to the incident. The survivor sought to annul the fact-finding report conducted by the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Judge and requested a re-investigation under the High Court's supervision. However, the High Court judge, C.S. Dias, pointed out that the legal grounds for the petition were invalid. In the plea, the survivor argued that the inquiry conducted by the trial court was not proper.
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The survivor's petition argued that the Principal Sessions Judge's report was biased in favour of his colleagues. The survivor plans to appeal the decision of the single bench.
Earlier, an investigation into the allegation of the memory card being tampered with had been conducted under the direction of a district judge, as instructed by the High Court. The findings in the report corroborated the survivor's claims. The report stated that the memory card, containing the relevant footage, had been opened and examined by three courts, including the trial court. The personnel involved in examining the card were Mahesh, a clerk at the district sessions court, Thajuddin, a staff member from the trial court, and a magistrate from Angamaly named Leena.
The memory card was kept in private custody by the Angamaly magistrate in 2018, based on the belief that this was appropriate. On December 13, 2018, Mahesh, the district judge's personal assistant, examined the memory card on his phone at 10:52 PM, reportedly at the judge's directive. However, the investigation report did not clarify whether such a request was indeed made by the judge. Additionally, on July 19, 2021, Thajuddin from the trial court also examined the memory card, placing it on his Vivo phone, which was lost during a trip in February 2022. Although the report mentioned unauthorized inspections, it did not recommend seizing the phones or taking any action against those involved. This situation has prompted the survivor to approach the High Court again.
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