‘Why do you need assault visuals?’: Kerala HC asks Dileep in actor abduction case

The Kerala High Court on Monday asked Malayalam actor and accused number 8 Dileep, why he was particular that the assault visuals in the actor abduction and alleged rape case be handed over to him. 

The HC sought to know why Dileep wanted the visuals, while hearing a petition he filed, seeking visuals of the attack. 

This comes after a lower court in February refused to entertain Dileep's plea seeking the visuals. The actor had claimed that he had the right to access evidence in the case. Dileep is accused of allegedly conspiring to attack the woman actor and hired the prime accused Pulsar Suni and other accused to carry out the crime. 

The Kerala HC asked Dileep why he moved a petition seeking custody of the visuals, when he has already viewed the visuals of the assault, as per law. 

Responding to the HC bench, Dileep's lawyer argued that the said visual was doctored and questioned the authenticity of the visual. He argued that the accused has the right to have the custody of evidence and other relevant documents pertaining to the case, and that electronic evidence comes are also included in this. Dileep's lawyer argued that the police have tampered with the woman's voice in the video and said that it should be further verified whether the woman's voice in the video belongs to the survivor. 

However, the prosecution was adamant in its stand that the assault visuals should not be handed over to Dileep. The prosecution argued that a survivor's rights was above the rights of the accused to access evidence. 

Saying that they do not oppose the defence viewing the visuals during the process of trial, the prosecution pointed out that the survivor will have to live in constant fear, if the assault visual was handed over to the accused. 

The court posted the matter for Wednesday.