Kathua rape and murder: Supreme Court transfers case to Pathankot

The trial will be held in camera on a day-to-day basis with no adjournments, rules the court. The Supreme Court on Monday transferred the trial in the Kathua rape and murder case to Pathankot district in Punjab. A Special Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra transferred the case out of  Jammu and Kashmir with consensus from the victim’s family, Jammu and Kashmir government and the accused. “Fair trial is sacrosanct principle under Article 21 (fundamental right to life) of the Constitution,” the Supreme Court observed in the order.

It said fair trial and fear are contradictory concepts and should not be allowed to co-exist. It said fair trial means an “atmosphere where the victims, accused persons and witnesses feel safe and they do not suffer from any phobia from attending court”. Issuing a series of directions, the Supreme Court ordered that the trial should be held in-camera. This is to protect the witnesses and make the accused “feel safe”.

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The court ordered the Pathankot District Judge to conduct the trial and not delegate it to another court. The trial shall be held under the provisions of the Ranbir Penal Code, which is applicable in Jammu and Kashmir. The documents would be translated from Urdu into English. The apex court allowed the J&K government to appoint a special public prosecutor and continue providing protection, transport and all other ancillary facilities to the victims, lawyers and accused during the trial.

The court refused to examine a separate plea to hand over the investigation to the CBI, saying it was dealing with only a petition seeking transfer of the case for the purpose of fair trial. Chief Justice Misra said the investigation has been done, the charge sheet has already been filed by the J&K Crime Branch on April 9 and it is always open for supplementary investigation if required.

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“When charge sheet is filed, why should we want another agency?” Chief Justice Misra said. The Supreme Court said it would continue to monitor the trial, so no other court across the country has jurisdiction to entertain complaints or appeals from the Pathankot District Judge’s orders. The apex court ordered a fast-track trial on a day to day basis with no adjournments. Chief and cross-examinations of a witness should be done without a break and there would be no adjournments, it said. There are a total of 221 witnesses in the case.

The next date of hearing in the Supreme Court has been fixed on July 9.

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“We are not going to comment on the investigation. We are here for the fundamental concept of a fair trial for both victims and the accused,” Chief Justice Misra responded.

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Senior advocate Indira Jaising, for the victim’s father, argued that “the police have done a good job” and the demand for a CBI probe was an “attempt to unscramble a scrambled egg”.

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