Kerala High Court | Photo: Mathrubhumi
Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday asked the prosecution if they have any objection in examining the memory card of actress attack at a central lab. The court was considering the appeal of the government against the trial court's decision to deny the request for a fresh digital forensic examination of the memory card which is in the custody of the trial court.
The prosecution alleged that the examination in the state lab showed that the hash value of the card was changed indicating someone accessed the card when it was in court custody. The probe agency needs a clarification on this for which they requested a fresh examination.
However, by joining the case as a party, actor Dileep opposed the plea. The HC made the recommendation considering the submission of the actor.
The prosecution and the survivor vehemently opposed the suggestion to send the card to a central lab. It is nothing short of handing over the law and order to the union government, said the prosecution. Accepting such demands based on the allegations of the accused is equivalent to handing over the probe to the accused, argued TA Shaji, Director General of Prosecution of Kerala.
Meanwhile, the HC snubbed the allegation of the prosecution which stated that the trial court did not intimate them about the report of the forensic director that the hash value of the memory card was changed. The court is not obliged to inform the prosecution of such things by going through all documents, it stated.
The HC also slammed the prosecution for 'being the mouthpiece of the investigating agency'. The forensic report already states when the memory cards were accessed. Why do you need a fresh examination? the court asked.
The prosecution said that it is concerned about the repercussions due to the change in hash value as it will be relevant in the trial.
The court said that it cannot be probed even if the memory card was tampered with while it was in the court custody. It asked why was the hash value checked when the card was given for cloning. The prosecution replied that it was a routine procedure.
The court is also considering the plea of the survivor that the reprobe into the case was toppled.
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