KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the District and Sessions Judge Ernakulam to conduct an inquiry into allegations of unauthorised access to the memory card containing visuals of the 2017 actor assault and rape and of copying and transmitting its content. There are eight video files in the memory card.
The judge will be at liberty to seek the assistance of any agency, including the police, for conducting the inquiry, which should be completed within a month. “On three occasions, the memory card was connected to computer systems installed with devices capable of copying or transferring the electronic record or mutating the contents. The necessary conclusion would be that we failed to protect the victim’s interest, which resulted in the violation of her fundamental constitutional right. The victim alleges that the contents of the video footage were copied and transmitted. The emotional and psychological harm being suffered by the victim is beyond imagination,” said Justice K Babu. The judge has been directed to ensure the inquiry does not affect the trial in the 2017 case involving actor Dileep.
T A Shaji, the director general of prosecution, submitted there cannot be any dispute that the memory card was unauthorisedly accessed. The right to privacy of the survivor is to be protected.
The survivor’s counsel pointed out that the Forensic Science Lab (FSL) found that “the memory card is used in a Vivo mobile phone with an Android operating system and a Jio network application. In this device, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram apps were installed.” The memory card was accessed on the night of January 9, 2018, and December 13, 2018, at 9.58pm and 10.58pm, respectively. The third access was on July 19, 2021, from 12.19pm to 12.54pm. The memory card was analysed using forensic write blockers. “The examination found that on January 9, 2018, the memory was connected to a computer with a Windows operating system. Similarly, it was used in a mobile device having an Android operating system on December 13, 2018,” said the report.
The court said the alleged unauthorised access on January 9, 2018, and December 13, 2018, has no nexus or connection with the court’s proceedings. “I have gone through the proceedings of the court below. No materials show that the court concerned permitted anybody to take out the memory card from safe custody. It is presumed that the memory card remained in the safe custody of the court on those days. Therefore, access to the memory card is undoubtedly unauthorised,” said the single judge.