The court noted in its judgment that the prosecution’s stand on the Laksyah visit varied. Initially, the prosecution asserted that Suni’s intent was to collect the ‘quotation’ money for the abduction and sexual assault of the actor on February 17, 2017. It also claimed that the first accused (Suni) and fourth accused (Vijeesh V P) visited Laksyah to hand over a letter.
Simultaneously, the prosecution later took the stand that the purpose of the visit was to deliver a memory card containing visuals of the sexual assault and to hand over the mobile phone used to record the act.
Dileep’s Connection: The court acknowledged the defence’s argument that Dileep was in no way connected with the management or functioning of Laksyah. It was noted that Dileep’s owned business establishments were located in Edappally and Chalakudy. The judge observed that had Suni and Vijeesh intended to meet Dileep, they would have approached those establishments or his residence.
Reliability of Evidence: The court observed that the evidence presented was not reliable enough to conclude that either Suni alone or Suni along with Vijeesh reached Laksyah on February 22, following the incident. The prosecution’s argument was that Suni’s attempts to make contact prior to his arrest indicated the existence of a criminal conspiracy.
Hostile Witness: A witness, who was an employee at Laksyah, initially deposed that nothing unusual had occurred at the shop. Subsequently, after the police re-recorded his statement, he deposed in tune with the prosecution case. The court observed that the reason put forward by the prosecution for re-examining the witness after filmmaker Balachandra Kumar’s revelations appeared doubtful. The witness ultimately stated in court that he had deposed in favour of the prosecution due to pressure exerted on him.
Memory Card Contradiction: The court noted that the prosecution had no case claiming that Suni copied the visuals to other devices, including a memory card. Since the prosecution’s case was that the visuals were copied only to a pen drive—which was later seized by the police—the alleged entrustment of a memory card at Laksyah appeared doubtful. (TNIE)
For more details: Navamalayalam.com