Apprehending that the victim in the actor rape case “will not get fair trial and justice,” the Special Public Prosecutor has moved the court to stop the proceedings and shift the trial to another court.
A. Sureshan, the Special Public Prosecutor, submitted before the Additional Special Sessions Court (SPE/CBI)-3, Ernakulam, stop the proceedings to enable him to approach the High Court to transfer the trial to any other court in the “interest of justice.”
The prosecution feared that justice would be denied to the victim if the case was tried in the present court. He submitted that the court was “highly biased,’’ which is detrimental to the judicial system.
He submitted that the “trial of the case will be fair only if the judicial mind is uninfluenced by any extraneous matters. The conduct of the court to read out anonymous letter in the open court and make remarks is opposed to fair trail and fairness of the judicial system,” he submitted.
The prosecutor also complained that the court made some derogatory remarks, comments and baseless allegations against the prosecution and the Special Prosecutor. The court also made a few comments and remarks, which were not mentioned in the petition, for protecting the interest of justice, he submitted.
At the same time, legal sources maintained that the trial was being conducted in a fair and balanced way as envisioned by law. Neither the victim nor the women witnesses who were examined in the case had ever raised any concern regarding the fairness of trail. The trial will have to be completed within the time frame fixed by law and the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court, sources said.
Mr. Sureshan, when contacted, said the Director General of Prosecution (DGP) was informed about the events before moving the petition in the court.
Responding to the developments, the Registry of the Kerala High Court said it had not formally received any complaints in this regard. However, the registry would look into what transpired in the court, judicial sources said.
DGP Manjeri Sreedharan Nair said he had only unofficial knowledge about the issue. The petition should have been moved after the DGP clearing it. However, the issue would be inquired, he said.
