Kochi: Two days after the Kerala High Court appointed advocate Renjith B. Marar as amicus curiae in a matter related to the infamous 2017 actress assault case, he was relieved on Wednesday following his request.
On Monday, the court had appointed Marar as amicus curiae to assist the court in formulating guidelines to ensure the safety of electronic documents in judicial custody.
But on Wednesday, the court relieved Marar of the responsibility, accepting his request on this count.The court also said that Marar had informed it on Monday itself of his inability to fulfil the role of amicus curiae.
Marar was appointed when the court was considering a plea moved by the survivor in the 2017 actress assault case alleging foul play in the investigation in the case in which actor Dileep is a key accused.
In the plea, she contended that her fundamental right to a fair trial and right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution were violated.
The plea submitted that the visuals of the assault suffered by the petitioner were leaked even though the same was stored in a memory card which was in the custody of the trial court which is conducting the trial in the case.
The survivor further alleged that even though the forensic lab submitted a report confirming the leak, the presiding officer of the trial court did not take any action or permitted the court staff to be interviewed by the investigating officer.
“The illegal access tampering transmission of the contents of the memory card while it was in the custody of the court also attracts offenses punishable under Sections 201 and 204 of the Indian Penal Code and also Section 67A of the Information Technology Act, which are cognizable offenses to be investigated by the police,” the plea said.
The survivor, therefore, sought the the high court’s involvement to ensure a fair and impartial investigation and trial.
On Monday, all parties concluded their submissions following which the court reserved its verdict in the case.
Taking a serious view of the allegations of leakage of electronic evidence while it was in judicial custody, the court had deemed it fit to appoint an amicus curiae to address the issue.
A leading south Indian actress had complained that she had been abducted and sexually assaulted by a gang of goons in 2017. Her ordeal was also filmed to blackmail her, she alleged.
After main accused Sunil was arrested and questioned, Dileep was accused of being the main conspirator in the case and was arrested.Dileep was in jail for several weeks in 2017 before being released on bail.
–IANS