The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the trial in the actor assault case. The stay order comes as the Kerala government asked the SC for more time to present their case that the memory card with the visuals of the assault is material evidence in the case and not a document.
The trial was about to begin in the special CBI court in Ernakulam and was to be heard by Justice Honey M Varghese. However, Dileep had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court asking for a copy of the visuals on the memory card. According to Dileep, the visuals were concocted and would help him prove his innocence. Section 207 of the CrPC states that a document can be handed over to the accused. On Thursday, the Supreme Court asked the Kerala government whether the memory card is a document, and if so, it’ll leave it to the trial court to decide whether Dileep can access it. Though the SC asked the Kerala government to give it in writing on Friday, the government, in turn, wanted to continue its argument.
“The government maintains that the memory card is material evidence and we wanted more time to present our case. This is why the trial has been stayed,” Kerala Public Prosecutor Prakash told TNM.
“The prosecution’s stance is very clear. We have stated that the memory card is a material object. Not only is recording such a visual a crime, having possession of it, viewing it and sharing it with others is equally punishable. The memory card is a medium of offence. The court stated that it will hear the arguments following the break when the plea will be taken up,” Special prosecutor Suresan told TNM.
With the Kerala government asking for time to file its reply, the SC bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar said that the case will be heard in the third week of July after the summer vacation. However, this means that the trial, even for the other accused, cannot commence in the special CBI court. This despite the Kerala High Court saying in March that the trial must be completed within six months.
The High Court on last March had ordered that the trial in the actor assault case, where Malayalam actor Dileep is one among the main accused, should be completed within six months’ time.
Dileep’s counsel Mukul Rohatgi had argued that the memory card, which contains visuals of the assault, can be treated as a document and if so, it is capable of an exhaustive interpretation. He also claimed that the visuals were doctored. Hence, he had said that without a physical copy of the video, the accused actor cannot independently prove that the video was doctored.
Dileep’s plea to get the copy of the memory card had initially been rejected by the Angamaly Magistrate court on February 7, 2018. It was also rejected later by the Kerala High Court in August 2018. Following this, he moved the Supreme Court.
Dileep has been accused of masterminding the abduction and sexual assault of a Malayalam actor. He is the eighth accused in the case, which took place in February 2017. The actor was assaulted by a group of men in a moving car in Kochi.