Kochi: Another Kerala High Court judge has recused himself from hearing a petition filed by the survivor of the 2017 actress assault case. Soon after Justice Jobin Sebastian recused himself on Monday, Dr Justice Kauser Edappagath also recused himself on Wednesday.

The plea seeks a fresh and thorough probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the alleged illegal access of the memory card containing visuals of the assault. After Justice Sebastian's recusal, the plea was listed before Justice Edappagath. When the matter came up on Wednesday, Justice Edappagath stated that he would refrain from hearing the case.

This is the second single judge to recuse from the matter. Justice Sebastian had noted that he had previously held charge as Registrar General (District Judiciary) when a similar complaint was made by the survivor on the administrative side.

The petition further requests the formation of an SIT with at least one member having expertise in cyber or digital forensics. It seeks a time-bound, effective, fair, and comprehensive inquiry into the alleged unauthorised access of the memory card.

The survivor had earlier approached the High Court in 2022. That petition was disposed of in December 2023, with the court directing the Ernakulam District and Sessions Judge to conduct a fact-finding inquiry into the allegations. In the present plea, the survivor has challenged the findings of that inquiry.

Notably, last year, the trial court acquitted actor Dileep, one of the accused in the case, while finding six others guilty.

The case pertains to the abduction and sexual assault of an actress in a moving vehicle on February 17, 2017, on the outskirts of Kochi. The accused had allegedly recorded videos of the assault and copied them onto a memory card, which was later produced before the Aluva Magistrate Court by one of the accused, who was subsequently discharged.

The petition has been filed by advocates Bhadra Kumari K V, Vrinda Grover, Rhuthunanda S B, Arunima T S, and Byja E G.
(With LiveLaw inputs)