New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Malayalam actor Dileep's plea to have a copy of the memory card containing the visuals of the 2017 assault of a leading actress. The SC bench led by Justice A M Khanwilkar rejected Dileep's petition against an earlier Kerala High Court ruling on the crucial evidence in the sensational case. The trial court proceedings in the case can be resumed now with this judgment.

On Friday, the SC bench reasoned the visuals will not be provided to Dileep, an accused, considering the survivor's privacy and certain guidelines have been issued in this regard.

However, the SC bench has allowed the actor to watch and inspect the visuals.

The actress in her petition to the apex court had said that handing over of the memory card that contains the visuals to Dileep would be a violation of her privacy and fundamental rights. Counsel K Rajeev filed the petition on behalf of the survivor, who had earlier sought permission to implead in the case.

The actress had also moved the SC, pleading not to hand over the visuals of the attack to Dileep who is the eighth accused in the case. "It will have serious consequences," her lawyer said in the court. "The visuals will be circulated," he added.

Why trial was stayed

The Supreme Court had stayed the proceedings of the trial court on May 3. The court had then asked the government whether the memory card was treated as a piece of evidence or a document relevant to the case. However, the government in its reply said that a detailed hearing was needed over this. The Supreme Court subsequently ordered a stay on the trial court proceedings and postponed the case for detailed hearing.

Earlier during the hearing, the Kerala government argued that the memory card is 'material evidence' whereas the visual recordings are documents. The government also demanded that the evidence should not be handed over to the accused and that the trial court should decide on the matter.

The case history

The popular Malayalam actress was abducted and assaulted in a moving car near Kochi on February 17, 2017. First accused Sunil Kumar alias Pulsar Suni, a history-sheeter, was arrested soon after the incident.

Dileep was arrested by the police on July 10, 2017, for plotting the attack and was named as the eighth accused. But he was let out on bail on October 3, 2017. Dileep had denied any role in the attack and moved the court seeking all documents relevant to the case, including the assault visuals.

After the courts in Kerala rejected Dileep’s plea for a copy of the visuals, he had moved the Supreme Court. The HC had rejected his plea citing that the memory card was a ‘material object’ and not a document under Section 207 of Indian Penal Code.

The Kerala government had then accepted his plea to freeze the framing of charges against him in the case till the SC verdict on the issue.

The attack on the young actress and the subsequent arrest of Dileep had rattled the Malayalam film industry. The developments in the case and the trial proceedings are keenly followed by public and the media.