Kochi: A lawyers' outfit in a press release alleged a move to scuttle the 2017 actress assault case and demanded further probe into the case. However, the press release of CPI's Indian Association of Lawyers (IAL) was withdrawn after intense political pressure.
The press release, prepared in the name of IAL state president and Kerala Bar Council chairman K P Jayachandran and general secretary C B Swaminathan, was not shared with the media but published only on its official social media community for discussion.
The outfit alleged that an MLA had been making attempts to scuttle the case right from the initial stages of the investigation into the case. The lawyers sought that the phone call records of the actor (an accused in the case), MLA, and a senior IPS officer be examined.
The IAL also strongly criticised the special prosecutor's move to resign before the trial was completed. However, the prosecutors, who are members of the outfit, opposed this.
Allegations raised by the outfit
'Heavy-weights' in the ruling and opposition circles tried to protect the accused in the case from the beginning.
Close friends of the accused actor were included as prosecution witnesses, giving them an opportunity to turn hostile.
If the prosecution had felt from the beginning that it was unlikely to get justice from the court, this should have been informed to a higher court earlier itself.
The High Court was approached only after the main witnesses turned hostile during trial. This should not have been so.
The law regulates the questions that can be asked to a sexual assault victim. If the court had allowed such questions to be asked, then the High Court should have been informed immediately.
Only the actor, accused of plotting the attack, was granted bail and allowed to travel abroad frequently. This is unheard of in legal circles.
A conspiracy was hatched in Dubai to scuttle the case. Even opposition leaders were part of this.
A prosecution team, with the experience of successfully handling criminal cases, should have been entrusted with this case.
