Direct Actor Dileep To Surrender Mobile Phone : Prosecution Moves Application Before Kerala High Court

The prosecution has accused actor Dileep and his men of attempting to destroy critical evidence in the recent case of alleged conspiracy to kill police officers investigating the sensational 2017 sexual assault case.

The application was moved by Additional Public Prosecutor P. Narayanan with DGP T.A Shaji on Friday in the anticipatory bail plea filed by the actor and others. 

They have sought a direction to the petitioners to immediately surrender the specified mobile phones which they refused to hand over to the investigating officer during interrogation.

The prosecution has been restrained from arresting the petitioners hearing till the next hearing date, i.e, next Wednesday. 

In the interim order passed by the Kerala High Court last Saturday, the Judge had made it amply clear that the petitioners should fully co-operate with the investigation and that any attempt to interfere with the course of investigation in any manner will entitle cancellation of this order of protection. 

The prosecution admitted that the accused made themselves available for the interrogation as directed.

However, it has been submitted that upon extracting the call data records of the mobile phones already surrendered, it was revealed that these were used only after the 1st week of January 2022, after the director Balachandrakumar's disclosure.

The phones they used prior to this were allegedly concealed by the petitioners. When asked to surrender the same, they apparently denied to do so taking a stand that notice under Section 91 is not maintainable and that the mobile phones were sent for forensic examination through their lawyers.

Therefore, the prosecution argued that the accused had purposefully removed their mobile phones and attempted to conceal and thereby destroy the evidence under the pretext of sending it to examination.

"Petitioners are demonstrably not co-operating with the investigation as directed by this Honourable Court in the order dated 22.01.2022, and for that reason alone the protection granted to the petitioners is liable to be revoked."

Further, it was pointed out that although the investigating agency is empowered to seize the concealed mobile phones by recourse to the provisions under the CrPC, it was felt appropriate for the matter to be brought to the notice of the Court and seek a directive to the petitioners to surrender the mobile phones used by them prior to the first week of January, 2022 before the investigating officer.  

They added that since the main allegation against them is the commission of criminal conspiracy to harm the life of the investigating officers, digital evidence is of most importance to unearth the offence.

Therefore, the prosecution asserted that the mobile phones used by the petitioners for a considerable period after 2017 are primary materials to be subjected to examination as a part of the criminal investigation and that they are absolutely necessary to be taken into custody for the purpose of investigation.