"Heinous Crime Committed Against Me, Have Right To Seek Truth": Survivor Before Kerala HC In Dileep's Plea To Suspend Further Probe In Sexual Assault Case

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday continued hearing the plea moved by actor Dileep seeking to suspend further investigation into the 2017 sexual assault case.Justice Kauser Edappagath heard all the parties extensively over a three hour hearing at the physical court today. In 2017, a popular actress was abducted and raped in a moving vehicle pursuant to a conspiracy, allegedly plotted by Dileep. Being the 8th accused in the case, he is now undergoing trial before the CBI Special Judge.The case made headlines once again in 2022 when film director Balachandrakumar made shocking disclosures against the actor bringing out new allegations against him.Today, when the matter was taken up, the Court enquired with the prosecution how long it would take to complete investigating the new allegations. "We have to consider that the Supreme Court has extended the deadline to conclude the trial (in sexual assault case) four times already. It cannot be extended one month after another. Why can't you complete the investigation by the time the trial court has asked you to file the final report?"Responding to this, Director General of Prosecution T.A Shaji submitted that it will take 3 more months, adding that 20 individuals have been examined as of now and that some digital evidence has been collected so far. The DGP further argued that the difficulty faced by the prosecution in winding up the trial soon was due to the time it takes to get reports from experts and due to the petitioner's non-cooperation. Reliance was placed on several judgements to establish that it is fair to conduct further investigation when more evidence is collected. It was also contended that while the Court may decide a time frame for the prosecution to complete the investigation, it may not quash the ongoing probe. "Dileep is extremely influential everywhere; he influences minds and has massive clout. Balachandrakumar was just a common man when he heard of the conspiracy," submitted the DGP. Senior Advocate B. Raman Pillai appearing for Dileep concluded the arguments on behalf of the petitioner today. He resumed his arguments from where he left off yesterday and alleged that DySP Baiju Paulose had hired Balachandrakumar to depose the said statement and thereafter invented false stories when he realised that the trial in the 2017 case before the Sessions Judge was not proceeding in his favour. It was added that the evidence brought about by the director's statement was not new, rather it was additional evidence to demonstrate that Dileep was in touch with the first accused in the sexual assault case, Pulsar Suni.Yesterday the court had also allowed the impleading application submitted by the survivor in the 2017 case. Senior Advocate S. Sreekumar representing the survivor argued that further investigation is necessary to arrive at the truth."A heinous crime was committed against me. I have the right to seek truth," counsel for the survivor argued.Reliance was placed on the Supreme Court decisions of Vinubhai Haribhai Malaviya v. State of Gujarat and Rama Chaudhary v State of Bihar to establish the need for further investigation in the interest of justice even if it is likely to delay the trial. "This matter is being presented to this Court as if they have already assumed that this further investigation will lead to something that will delay the trial," it was argued.The Court will hear the matter on February 24. In the petition filed before the High Court, he has alleged that furtherance of this 'sham investigation' infringes the right of a fair trial and added that it is an abuse of the process of law.Dileep had accused the case to be a 'deliberate and calculated attempt' of the prosecution to sabotage the trial before the Special CBI Court. He has further pointed out that the impugned report containing new information was submitted by the Investigating Officer on 29th December 2021, the exact date when the Officer was scheduled to be examined as the last witness for the prosecution at the trial court.The accused has also contended that this report is unsustainable for the mere reason that it goes against the clear judicial pronouncements of the Supreme Court against investigating further if the charges are framed without obtaining formal permission of the Court.Case Title: P. Gopalakrishnan alias Dileep v. State of Kerala & Anr.

"Heinous Crime Committed Against Me, Have Right To Seek Truth": Survivor Before Kerala HC In Dileep's Plea To Suspend Further Probe In Sexual Assault Case

Hannah M Varghese

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