Actor assault case: Plea in Kerala HC seeks fresh probe into illegal access to memory card containing visuals of crime

Kochi: The survivor in the 2017 actor abduction and rape case has moved high court seeking a re-investigation into the alleged illegal access to the memory card containing visual evidence of the crime, by constituting a special investigation team (SIT) under the court’s supervision and directing that the investigation be completed in a time-bound manner.She has further sought an investigation into the possibility of the contents of the memory card having been copied or transmitted and requested that the SIT include at least one member with expertise in cyber and digital forensics. She has also sought the quashing of the previous inquiry reports submitted by the district and sessions judge and the inquiry authority on the matter. HC is slated to consider the petition next week.The survivor, a popular actor in Tamil and Malayalam films, was abducted and allegedly sexually assaulted in her car on Feb 17, 2017, by a group of men who forcibly entered the vehicle and recorded visuals of the incident on a mobile phone. The memory card containing the recordings was subsequently seized by police after the arrest of the accused persons and kept in judicial custody. At a later stage, a forensic examination revealed that the memory card in the custody of a court had been illegally accessed on three occasions, prompting the survivor to seek an investigation into the matter. Following this, the district and sessions judge conducted an inquiry into the matter. Although the inquiry report was submitted on Jan 3, 2024, the survivor raised objections regarding the manner in which the inquiry had been conducted, including that she had not been permitted to participate in the proceedings. Meanwhile, HC directed the inquiry authority to record the statement of the then district and sessions judge, Ernakulam, during whose tenure the memory card was allegedly accessed.The survivor has now contended that, despite both inquiry reports indicating unauthorised access to the memory card and the involvement of certain court officials, no action has so far been initiated against those responsible. She further submitted that the unauthorised access to the video recordings of the gang rape re-victimised her while she continued to await justice. According to the petition, the alleged incident not only violated her inalienable rights to dignity and privacy but also gravely undermined her right to justice guaranteed under the Constitution.In Dec 2025, the Ernakulam principal sessions court convicted six accused and sentenced them to 20 years’ imprisonment in the 2017 actor abduction and rape case, while acquitting actor Dileep, the eighth accused, along with three others.