The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider on January 11 a petition moved by Malayalam actor Dileep seeking a copy of the video footage of an attack on an actress, News18 reported. Dileep is accused of plotting the abduction and assault of the actress that took place on February 17, 2017, near Angamaly in Ernakulam.
Dileep’s petition said that he has the right to a fair trial and to get evidence related to the case, which included the memory card where the visuals of the alleged assault were stored. The main accused in the case, Pulsar Suni, allegedly recorded the entire assault.
The actor said that he needed to access the footage to prove his innocence as the visuals had been manipulated to deliberately frame him. Dileep’s counsel Mukul Rohatgi contended that the case was not genuine.
The Kerala government opposed the actor’s plea and accused him of being the “chief conspirator”. The government’s counsel observed there was no requirement under law to share all the material with the accused.
The Angamaly Magistrate Court in February had earlier dismissed his petition seeking visuals of the assault. The Kerala High Court in August had also turned down his plea.
Dileep has been charged with planning the attack and hiring the group that carried it out, according to the police. While Suni is the main accused, five others, including Dileep, have been named in the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Special Investigation Team. Dileep’s former wife Manju Warrier and current wife Kavya Madhavan are among the 355 witnesses in the case.
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