Actress assault case: Kerala HC removes amicus curiae over links with actor Dileep

Kochi: Two days after his appointment, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday dismissed the amicus curiae in the 2017 actress assault case. After the prosecution brought forward the fact that lawyer Renjith B. Marar had a close relationship with Malayalam actor Dileep, the eighth accused in the case, he was removed. Financial records were provided by the prosecution to prove Marar's relationship with Dileep. Marar had also asked for his removal as amicus curiae.

The High Court designated Adv. Renjith Marar as an amicus curiae to develop guidelines to ensure the security of electronic documents held in judicial custody. After consulting with every party involved, including the government, the appointment was made. When debating the complainant's petition for an investigation into the occurrence of unauthorised opening of a memory card, the court appointed Marar as an amicus curiae. The memory card with images of the sexual assault had many accesses in 2018, according to a forensic report from 2022.

Following the appointment, the case's investigating officer gave the prosecution access to the evidence gathered throughout the investigation. These consisted of messages exchanged via WhatsApp between Renjith Marar and Dileep as well as certain documents containing evidence of money transfers from Dileep's account to Marar's.

The prosecution eventually objected to the lawyer's participation in the case as an amicus curiae. Renjith Marar had also requested his removal from the circumstance in a letter to the High Court. The court decided to disqualify him from his position after taking these two demands into account.