Ernakulam Additional Special Sessions Judge Honey M Varghese dismissed a petition by the investigating officer of the Kerala actor assault case, asking to examine if the memory card containing visuals of the crime were accessed after it was submitted at the court. Judge Honey said that the purpose of the petition seeking access details of a document that was kept in safe custody of courts concerned is unintelligible and can be treated only as "ill-conceived and ill-motivated". She ruled the petition liable to be dismissed.
A few days ago the survivor actor, Bhavana, had given a plea at the High Court with concerns about the agenda of Judge Honey, after the Judge’s letter to the forensic science lab in Thiruvananthapuram cropped up, in connection with the case. While investigating, police officers found the Judge's note at the forensic lab, asking about the memory card and the number of times it was accessed. The lab gave her a report saying that it was accessed once, illegally, between March 2018 and March 2019. Bhavana in her petition said that the judge had not made a record of this, or communicated this to any of the parties involved, including investigative officers. The judge had in fact admitted in open court that the forensic report had been with her for two years and she had not released it.
In her plea, the survivor writes: "This is a serious misconduct committed by her (the judge) and it clearly shows that she has an agenda to save the culprits who have illegally accessed the same and accessed/tampered/transmitted the same. By keeping it secret whether she obtained any benefits is also to be investigated.”
But dismissing the petition, Judge Honey Varghese, while acknowledging that she did have such a report and that she was aware when the memory card was last accessed, refused to share further details.
It was in February 2017 that the actor was assaulted in a moving car by a gang of men, allegedly under the directions of actor Dileep. The men recorded their attack on video. Pulsar Suni, the first accused, had given a memory card with the visuals of the attack to an advocate, who in turn handed it over to the Angamaly magistrate court. After forensic examination at the Thiruvananthapuram lab, the memory card and pen drive carrying visuals were returned to the Angamaly court, where it remained sealed for a year, up to March 2018. For a year after that, the memory card was kept in the Ernakulam Principal and Sessions court. Afterward the trial of the case began and the card was kept in the trial court - Judge Honey's court.