The Kerala High Court on Tuesday, December 28, sought the response of all the accused in the actor sexual assault case of 2017, including actor Dileep, on the state government's appeals against a trial court's orders, declining its pleas to summon several more witnesses and get certified copies of the call detail records of the accused. Justice Viju Abraham issued notice to all the accused in the case, seeking their stand on the prosecution's two separate petitions and listed the matters for further hearing on January 6, 2022.
The prosecution, in one of the petitions, has sought original customer applications in respect of 25 mobile numbers, including that of Dileep, as well as proper certificates, in accordance with Section 65 (B) of the Evidence Act, for the call detail records of eight numbers, which too includes that of the actor. The fresh certificates have been sought as the earlier ones "did not furnish the entire details," the petition has said.
It has challenged the trial court's December 21 decision dismissing its application seeking the call records and original customer applications. In the second plea, the prosecution has challenged the dismissal by the trial court of its petition to summon 16 witnesses for further evidence. "Out of the 16, nine were additional witnesses and seven were those who had already been examined," the second plea said.
The trial court, on December 21, had allowed the summoning of the three witnesses and rejected the request for summoning the others. The prosecution has contended that the finding of the lower court that the customer application forms for mobile connections were in the names of different persons and the same were only possessed and used by the accused persons is incorrect.
It has also contended that the lower court was wrong in holding that there was a delay in filing the application seeking the call records and original customer details. With regard to the summoning of the witnesses, the prosecution has contended that the lower court order to the extent it rejected the application for recalling some of the witnesses and allowing summoning of only three, was "illegal and improper and would cause prejudice in arriving at a right decision in the case".
The case pertains to the abduction and sexual assault of a female actor from the Malayalam film industry on February 17, 2017. There are ten accused in the case and initially, police arrested seven people. Dileep was arrested subsequently and let out on bail later.