Kerala HC orders transfer of 2017 actress assault case visual evidence to Registrar General

The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the District and Sessions Judge, Ernakulam, to transmit the memory card and pen drive 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 also directed the Registrar General to keep them in safe custody until further orders.

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A single bench of Justice C S Dias issued the order while considering a petition filed by the survivor seeking to quash the report submitted by then trial judge Honey M Varghese on the alleged illegal access to the memory card while it was in court custody.

“I am satisfied that the petitioner has made a prima facie case for an interim order. Hence, I direct the District and Sessions Judge, Ernakulam, to forthwith transmit the memory card and pen drive in question in a sealed cover through a messenger to the Registrar General of this Court. The Registrar General shall keep the said exhibits in safe custody until the Court passes further orders,” the court noted in its order.

The court directed the prosecution to file a counter-affidavit within one month.

The survivor in the 2017 actress assault case has moved the Kerala High Court seeking a fresh, court-monitored investigation into the alleged unauthorised access of the memory card containing visuals of the sexual assault.

The survivor’s plea seeks to quash the previous fact-finding report submitted by the trial judge, calling it biased and incomplete. According to the survivor, the findings and conclusions of the report were reached without consulting any forensic expert or investigator.

In her plea, the survivor sought a comprehensive, court-monitored SIT probe with forensic experts to investigate the unauthorised copying, transmission, and exposure of the critical visual evidence. The petitioner has also sought an investigation into the possible copying and transmission of the video recordings of the crime.

The survivor contends, in her plea, that the previous fact-finding enquiry conducted by the trial court was not “fair, free, and complete” and failed to fully uncover whether the visuals were leaked or transmitted. She argues that the handling breached her fundamental constitutional rights to privacy, dignity, and justice.

The survivor had first approached the High Court in 2022, alleging unauthorised access to the memory card.

The High Court then directed the trial court to conduct a fact-finding enquiry. However, after the enquiry report was submitted, the survivor raised objections to the manner in which the investigation was conducted, claiming that the probe by the trial court was not done fairly and completely.

In April 2024, the High Court had directed that copies of the statements recorded during the enquiry be furnished to the survivor, while leaving open the question of whether a separate probe by an SIT was required.

The petition will be heard again after a month.