HC criticises actor-assault survivor for remarks against trial court

Kochi: The High Court of Kerala criticised the survivor in the actor-assault-case of 2017 on Friday for her remarks against the trial court judge. The HC Justice Kauser Edappagath to justify her allegations against the trial court, PTI reported.

The top court in the state asked the survivor whether the prosecution was leaking information to her.

The survivor had filed a petition on May 23, raising allegations against the trial court. The petition said that it was clear from the records that illegal access and tampering happened to digital evidence while it was in judicial custody. Even though the Forensic Science Lab (FSL) authorities had submitted a report before the court, the judge kept it without making any entries into court logs.

The plea had said, "The act of the presiding officer is highly suspicious...the conduct of the presiding officer in obstructing the investigation in this matter clearly shows that she (the judge) wants to illegally help the culprits, and she is privy to all these heinous acts."

The survivor, an actress who predominantly worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, was allegedly abducted and molested in her car for two hours by the accused. The accused had forced their way inside the car on the night of February 17, 2017, and escaped in a busy area, and they filmed the entire act to blackmail the survivor.

There are ten accused in the case, including prominent Malayalam actor Dileep. Police have arrested Dileep and seven others, and he is now on bail.