Actor assault case: Second judge recuses from considering survivor’s plea  

KOCHI: The second judge also recused himself from considering the plea filed by survivor seeking a re-investigation into the illegal examination of the memory card, which is a crucial piece of evidence in the actor assault case. Justice Kauser Edappagath recused himself from considering the plea. Now, another bench will consider the plea.

The judge did not specify the reason behind his recusal. However, it is hinted that the hash value of the memory card changed during his previous tenure as a judge of the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court. This is the reason behind his recusal. Earlier, Justice Jobin Sebastian had also recused himself from considering the plea.

The actress had filed a plea in the high court seeking a re-investigation into the illegal examination of the memory card, which is a key piece of evidence in the case, while it was in court’s custody. The demand is for a new investigation under the court’s supervision. The survivor filed the new plea through Vrinda Grover, a famous advocate in the Supreme Court.

The survivor also alleged in her plea that deliberate attempts were made to sabotage the case related to the leaking of the footage. The memory card containing the visuals was illegally examined thrice.