Actress Rape Case | Kerala High Court Directs Sessions Judge To Transmit Memory Card To HC Registrar For Safe Custody

The Kerala High Court on Friday (June 12) has directed the District and Sessions Judge, Ernakulam to transmit the memory card and pendrive containing the visuals of the assault in the 2017 Actress Assault Case in a sealed cover to the Registrar General of the High Court.The Court further directed the Registrar General to keep the memory card in "safe custody" till further orders.Justice C.S. Dias passed an interim order while considering the plea filed by the survivor in the 2017 Actress Assault Case seeking a fresh and comprehensive probe by SIT into the alleged illegal access of the memory card that contained visuals of the assault.The illegal access came to light when a forensic lab noted a change in the hash value of the memory card when it was sent for creating a clone copy. Hash value is like a unique fingerprint of an electronic or digital record that gets altered only when its contents are altered.The Court has directed the Registrar General to keep the memory card and pen drive in safe custody until further orders are passed in the case. It has also granted a month's time to the respondents in the case to file counters, if any. "On a consideration of the facts and materials and learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner, and the public prosecutor, I am satisfied that the petitioner has made out a prima facie case for an interim order. Hence, I direct the District and Sessions judge, Ernakulam to forth transmit the memory card and pendrive in the enquiry reports in a sealed cover to the Registrar General of this Court. The Registrar General shall keep the said Exhibits [MOs] in safe custody until further orders are passed," the Court ordered.When the matter came up for consideration today, Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the survivor, contended that she is challenging the inquiry report since the parameters of the inquiry as ordered by the Court in its December 2023 order was not fulfilled. She argued that there was a specific direction by the Court to take assistance of any agency, including the Police, for conducting the inquiry but that was not done. It was further pointed out that conclusions of the inquiry report were reached without seeking the assistance of any forensic expert or investigator.In December 2023, while considering another plea by the survivor seeking similar reliefs, the High Court had directed the Sessions Judge to conduct an enquiry into the unauthorised access and possible transmission of the visuals in the memory card.Earlier, Justice Jobin Sebastian and Dr. Justice Kauser Edappagath had recused from hearing the plea.In the plea, the petitioner has sought for a direction to constitute a Special Investigation Team with at-least one member with expertise in cyber / digital forensic and to conduct a time bound, effective, fair and comprehensive inquiry or investigation into the unauthorized and illegal access made to the memory card. The petitioner has also sought for an investigation into the possible copying and transmission of the video recordings of the crime.The plea also challenges the enquiry report of the District and Sessions Judge. As per the enquiry report, the three times the memory card was accessed were found to be done by the Magistrate court, the senior clerk of the Sessions Court and another court clerk.One of the clerks had that stated that his mobile phone, in which the videos were played, was destroyed by him and the other clerk had stated that it was stolen during a train journey. The plea also raises a question as to why these verbal statements were taken on face value by the sessions judge/inquiry authority when it was unsubstantiated."The inquiry authority did not inquire into any undue financial enrichment or gains of those who illegally accessed the memory card and removed it from the lawful custody of the Court. Thereby, not ruling out whether the illegal access and transport was for satisfying prurient interests or to transmit its contents for wrongful gain," the plea states.The FSL that examined the memory card had found that the hash value of the same had changed and that the eight videos that contained the assault were last accessed on 13.12.2018. As per the plea, CSFL, Chandigarh had noted the change in hash value which was caused to illegal access of the memory card."That it is noteworthy that while no court order sheet records de-sealing and access to the memory card on 13.12.2018, the Ld. Trial Court, [which is also the Inquiry Authority of the impugned reports] took no steps to inquire into the same," states the plea.Notably, last year the trial court had acquitted actor Dileep an accused in the case, while finding six others guilty.The case refers to the abduction and sexual assault of an actress in a moving vehicle in the outskirts of Cochin city that occurred on February 17, 2017. The accused persons had also taken videos of the assault and copied into a memory card, which was produced before the Magistrate Court, Aluva by...

Actress Rape Case | Kerala High Court Directs Sessions Judge To Transmit Memory Card To HC Registrar For Safe Custody

K. Salma Jennath

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K. Salma Jennath

Actress Rape Case | Kerala High Court Directs Sessions Judge To Transmit Memory Card To HC Registrar For Safe Custody

K. Salma Jennath

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K. Salma Jennath

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