Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court is likely to take suo moto notice in Kathua gang rape case.
The matter was raised in the apex court today by the Supreme Court lawyers who accused Jammu-based lawyers of trying to obstruct the filing of Charge sheet in this case.
The apex court asked a lawyer to bring materials on record to take judicial note of a strike call given by Kathua and Jammu and Kashmir bar associations in relation to the gangrape and killing of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu region.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra asked lawyer P V Dinesh to furnish some material with regard to the actions of the bar bodies for enabling it to take suo motu judicial note of the strike call.
Dinesh referred to the "unfortunate" decisions of the local bar that had allegedly come in support of the people who had gangraped and killed the minor in Kathua.
"Something must come on record. We have nothing on record," the bench, also comprising justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said and asked the lawyer to file some material in support of his contention.
Dinesh submitted that the apex court should take note of bar's actions and issue directions to them and the Bar Council of India to ensure that the rule of law prevails.
The bench assured the lawyer that it would consider the matter if adequate material is brought before it.
An 8-year-old girl of Rasana village in Kathua near Jammu had disappeared on 10 January 2018.
The girl belonging to nomad Bakarwal community had gone grazing horses and was reportedly last seen at 2 pm that day.
Her dead body was recovered on 17 January 2018.The medical examination of her body pointed towards sexual assault.
A Special Investigation Team formed to probe the incident arrested eight people, including two Special Police Officers (SPOs) and a head constable, who was charged with destruction of evidence.
A chargesheet filed by the Jammu and Kashmir Police said abduction, rape and killing of the girl was part of a carefully planned strategy to remove the Bakarwal community from the area.
The state police crime branch, which probed the rape and killing of the girl, had filed a main charge sheet against seven people and a separate charge sheet against a juvenile in a court in Kathua district earlier this week.
Jammu has been on tenterhooks since the brutal incident. The bar associations have been opposing the action against the accused, alleging that the minority Dogras were being targeted.
Lawyers took to the streets shouting slogans and trying to block the road outside the court where the charge sheets have been filed.
The court has fixed the next date of hearing on April 16 when the case would be committed to sessions court for beginning of the trial.
