Serious questions about judicial confidentiality have been raised about the verdict in the 2017 Kerala actress abduction and sexual assault case. It has been alleged that important details of the verdict in the case were leaked even before it was pronounced in open court by Judge Honey Varghese.
The president of the Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association (KHCAA) has written to the chief justice of the Kerala High Court, seeking a probe into the contents of an alleged anonymous letter in Malayalam, dated December 2, citing “potential breach of confidentiality” regarding the Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Court Judge Honey Varghese pertaining to the abduction and sexual assault case.
The alleged anonymous letter by some, identified as an “Indian citizen”, had mentioned how the “upcoming verdict scheduled for December 8” in the case, would “exclude” actor Dileep, who was arraigned as the eighth accused, the seventh accused Charlie Thomas and also the ninth accused Sanilkumar. Thus, only the rest of the six persons would be convicted in the case.
The letter dated claimed that “the upcoming verdict scheduled for December 8, 2025, in the high-profile case would exclude seventh accused Charly Thomas, eighth accused Gopalakrishnan alias Dileep, and the ninth accused Sanilkumar alias Mesthiri Sanil”, and that judgment would be delivered only against the remaining six accused.
The letter was sent to the Kerala High Court Advocates’ Association (KHCAA) before being forwarded to the chief justice on December 8, the same day the Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Court pronounced its order. It is to be noted that the verdict was on the lines mentioned in the letter without any variation. The letter predicted the verdict in the 2017 actress abduction and sexual assault case a week before it was pronounced!
In the letter, it has been reported that there are several disparaging claims about the judge and questioned the fairness of the process.
KHCAA president Yeshwanth Shenoy forwarded the letter to the chief justice.
“Irrespective of how the case is decided, the people named in this letter should be verified and an inquiry ought to be made into how such confidential matters can leak. This will have serious repercussions on the reputation of the judiciary and its integrity. I request you to forward the same to the vigilance registrar or any other agency to inquire whether it involves any of the persons named in the letter and how the confidentiality was breached.” Yeshwanth Shenoy said in the covering note to the Chief Justice.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that the high court would examine the alarming revelations in the letter that predicted the verdict. Its administrative committee comprising the chief justice and four other senior-most judges will meet shortly. The meeting is expected to consider the matter in view of the communication sent by the president of the KHCAA.