The Supreme Court on Thursday sought clarification from the Kerala government on whether the memory card in the actress assault case should be considered as 'material object' or a 'document'. Kerala government will submit its reply on Friday.
Malayalam actor Dileep, one of the accused and alleged mastermind of the 2017 crime, had approached the apex court for access to visuals of the attack stored in the memory card. The SC has asked the state government to submit its reply on Friday, depending on which it will decide if the actor can be given a copy of the visuals.
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In February 2017, a leading Malayalam actress was abducted and assaulted by a group of men in a moving vehicle in Kochi. The visuals were stored in a memory card of the main accused, Pulsar Suni.
Dileep's plea to access the visuals, which he claimed would help establish his innocence, was earlier turned down by the Angamaly Magistrate Court. The Kerala High Court, too, had declined the request in August 2018, following which Dileep approached the Supreme Court.
Dileep's counsel Mukul Rohatgi had argued that the visuals be treated as a document and not as material object.
According to reports, if the card is to be treated as a 'document', the court can decide if copy of the memory card contents can be supplied to Dileep, and if so, how much. On the other hand, if the state requests it to be treated as 'material object', Dileep cannot be given a copy.
