JUDGMENT :

A request to forward an electronic document to the forensic lab for analysis was declined by the impugned order. The document in issue is in the custody of the court, in the pending trial and was already subjected to analysis. The request of the investigating officer to forward the electronic document for examination was made after the court had permitted the conduct of a further investigation into the alleged crime. Terming the rejection as a restriction on the powers of investigation, the State has preferred this original petition.

2. An actress of repute is alleged to have been sexually assaulted on the night of 17th February 2017 in a moving car. The prosecution alleges that during the commission of the alleged brutality, accused had also taken a video of the assault on a mobile phone which was later transferred to a memory card. The memory card containing the videos was subjected to a forensic examination during the investigation. After the final report was filed, since the copy of the memory card was not furnished to the accused as it contained obscene videos, the eighth accused challenged the refusal. Finally, the Supreme Court by judgment in P.Gopalkrishnan Alias D