Sexual assault on actress: Top court denies Dileep copy of incident video

NEWDELHI:: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to allow Malayalam actor Dileep, accused of planning the 2017 abduction and sexual assault of an actress, to get a copy of the mobile-phone memory card that contains a video of the incident.

A bench of justices AM Khanwikar and Dinesh Maheshwari said Dileep can, however, view the video after taking permission from a magistrate who has to consider his request appropriately.

The court agreed to grant partial relief to Dileep after finding merit in his argument that a memory card/ pen drive which the prosecution proposes to rely on during the trial was a “document” within the meaning of Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The apex court ruled that all documents including “electronic record” produced for inspection and which the prosecution proposes to use against the accused must be furnished to him. The contents of the memory card can be furnished to the accused in the form of a cloned copy. “It is cardinal that a person tried for such a serious offence should be furnished with all the material and evidence in advance, on which the prosecution proposes to rely against him during the trial,” the court said.

The top court held that Dileep can seek expert opinion from an independent agency to reassure himself about the genuineness and credibility of the contents of the memory card. The case dates back to February 2017, when a Malayalam film actress was abducted and molested by a gang of six. The act, which allegedly took place in a moving vehicle, was filmed by the accused to blackmail the actress.