Actor Dileep, on Thursday, February 3, 2022, approached the Kerala High Court challenging further investigation being conducted by the crime branch into the case relating to hatching a conspiracy to do away with the investigation officers in the actor sexual assault case
In his petition, the actor pointed out that in the name of further investigation what was being carried out was “a series of vindictive acts by a set of police officers including very senior officers”. They had foisted a case against the petitioner and all other male members of his family and persons closely associated with him, he said.
He said that if the investigation was allowed to be continued it would infringe his right to fair trial. In fact, the investigation was an abuse of the process of the law. The motive behind the filing of a petition for a further investigation by the investigating officer, that too on the date on which the officer was scheduled to be examined as the last witness on the side of the prosecution, was only to “grab another opportunity to fabricate new evidence against him” so as to rectify the lacuna in the probe into the sexual assault case, he alleged.
In fact, further investigation had begun when the trials in the actor assault case was at the fag-end, he said.
The actor added that the prosecution was trying to sabotage the trial in the sexual assault case by conducting a further investigation into the allegations of director Balachandrakumar.
The order granting permission to conduct a further investigation by the trial court was also unsustainable as it violated the judgment of the Supreme Court against conducting further inquiry after the framing of charges in a case, he pointed out.
The petition sought a declaration that the further investigation was illegal and pleaded for a directive to the trial court to proceed with the trial in the sexual assault case.