The accused right to access documents, including digital documents excluding those which affect the privacy of the victim, says the High Court of Kerala in Aji v State of Kerala [2024:KER:83377].
The right of the accused to defend a case is a salutary right. Therefore the accused has a right of access to the documents including digital documents (excluding the same contains privacy of the victim. Such a right could not be denied and such denial is not fair trial.
In this case, the accused was allegedly committed offences punishable under Sections 447 (punishment for criminal trespass) and 354 (assault or criminal force to outrage woman’s modesty) of the IPC and sexual assault and sexual harassment under the POCSO Act.
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