Dileep sexual assault case: Kerala HC orders release of inquiry report to complainant

In what can be termed as a setback for Malayalam actor Dileep in a 2017 sexual assault case, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the district sessions judge who conducted an inquiry into the alleged change in hash value of a memory card containing visuals of the crime and kept in court custody, to hand over a copy of the inquiry report to the assault survivor.

Justice K. Babu accepted the plea when the complainant approached the court seeking a report of the incident, the investigation into which was completed in early January 2024.

The hash value of a device changes when a memory card is used in different devices to access its contents.

Dileep, who is the eighth accused in the case, was against the court handing over a copy of the inquiry report to the survivor and labelled the report as a confidential document. He had demanded that if the complainant received a copy of the report, then he too should be given a copy. Justice Babu dismissed all his requests.

A copy of the report, which will allow the survivor to understand who accessed the memory card, can be obtained by filing an application with the district principal sessions judge.

The complainant had earlier approached the high court alleging that the footage on the memory card had been accessed, copied and transferred illegally, following which the district sessions judge was directed to conduct an inquiry and file a report on the matter within a month.

During the examination conducted in a Thiruvananthapuram forensics lab, it was found that the hash value of the memory card had changed. Similarly, the SFSL report stated that the memory card was accessed illegally several times after court hours, and that it was checked at night and on a phone.

The survivor had submitted that the memory card had been accessed three times while in court custody. Gaurav Agarwal, who is appearing on behalf of the complainant, submitted that on the first instance on 9 January 2018, two files had been created in the memory card while it was in the custody of the Angamali judicial first class magistrate's court.

On the second instance on 13 December 2018, at 10.58 pm, three files were created in the memory card while it was in the custody of the district principal sessions court, and it was accessed on an Android device. The third instance as per the counsel was on 19 July 2021, when 34 new files were created on gaining access via another Android mobile device.

The complainant had approached the sessions court to obtain a copy of the report, but the court had held that the document was confidential. So she filed a petition in the high court.