Supreme Court of India on Monday ordered police protection to the family of the victim of Kathua rape case and to their lawyer. A Petition has been presented in Supreme Court requesting the transfer of the case from Jammu to Chandigarh.
Facts of the Case
An 8-year-old girl belonging to a small Bakerwal community in Kashmir was abducted, held captive for a week in a small village temple in Kathura district where she was assaulted, raped and murdered. Her body was found on 17th January. This shook the conscience of the common man and caused widespread anger in general public who came out on the streets in huge numbers in all the parts of country protesting against such an inhuman act. Rallies were also taken out in support of the accused persons which was attended by two BJP ministers. Tri-color flag was waived and slogans of Bharat Mata ki Jai were chanted during the rallies. Group of lawyers of Jammu Bar association prevented the police from filing the charge sheet against the accused saying that the matter should be investigated by CBI. Supreme Court of India came down heavily on the Jammu Bar Association and Kathua Bar for obstructing the path of justice and marked the lawyers responsible for causing hindrance. According to the Jammu & Kashmir police department, this incident is a carefully planned strategy to drive out the small nomadic tribe out of the area. Two BJP ministers who were accused of attending the rally supporting preparators of crime have resigned from the party. Advocate Deepika Singh Rajawat representing the family of the victim has publicly spoken that she has been threatened for taking up the case. Lawyer’s staged a protest in front of Supreme Court of India and also took out a silent march disapproving conduct of lawyers in Jammu.
The decision of the Case
All the eight accused have pleaded not guilty and agreed to undergo Narco-analysis test. Out of the eight accused one is juvenile who has moved an application for bail. Father of the victim has asked Supreme Court to make sure that no unauthorized person is allowed to see him and furthermore, he requested the court to ensure that the investigation is carried out efficiently, in a fair manner and completed quickly without any delay. Senior Lawyer Indira Jaisingh told Supreme Court that the atmosphere in Kathua was not conducive for a fair trial, the atmosphere is highly polarised. Supreme Court of India has ordered Jammu & Kashmir government to provide police protection to the family of the victim and to the lawyer representing them. Furthermore, A panel has been constituted to look into actions of Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association lawyers and if anyone is found guilty Bar Council of India will cancel their license for a lifetime. Moreover, to ensure neutrality two Sikh special public prosecutors have been appointed for Kathua rape and murder case trial. 28 April is set as the next date of hearing by the court.
Learning of the Case
From this case, we learn that Supreme Court can transfer a case to some other court to ensure that trial happens in a free and fair manner. People of India will stand for what is right.
