Let Allahabad HC deal with Hathras case: SC
   Date :16-Oct-2020

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NEW DELHI ;
 
THE Supreme Court on Thursday said the Allahabad High Court be allowed to monitor the Hathras case in which a Dalit girl was allegedly brutally raped and died of injuries. The top court, which was hearing a PIL and several intervention pleas of activists and lawyers, was told that no fair trial was possible in Uttar Pradesh as the investigation has been allegedly botched up. Allaying the apprehension, a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, said “Let the High Court deal with it. We are here if there is any problem.” Besides Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, the hearing saw battery of senior advocates like Harish Salve, Indira Jaising and Siddharth Luthra appearing for various parties.
 
There were other lawyers who wanted to argue but the apex court said “We don’t need assistance of the whole world”. The hearing also witnessed deliberations that in no case the victim’s identity be disclosed and her family members and witnesses be given full security and protection. The lawyer, appearing for the victim’s family, demanded that the proceedings of the case be shifted out of Uttar Pradesh to a court in the national capital. The apprehension of not having the fair trial in the State was also raised by activist-lawyer Indira Jaising who also made submissions on witness protection.
 
At the outset, the Solicitor General referred to recent affidavit filed by the Uttar Pradesh Government which gave details about the security and protection provided to the victim’s family and witnesses in the case. The State Government which has already transferred the case to the CBI and has given consent to monitoring by the apex court had filed the affidavit after the top court sought details on witness protection and on whether the victim’s family has chosen a lawyer. Meanwhile, four alleged Popular Front of India activists, who were arrested when they were gong to Hathras, were quizzed by the Enforcement Directorate in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district for around five hours, an official said.
 
The team was given a green signal by the chief judicial magistrate to interrogate the suspects on Tuesday. The ED questioned them at the temporary jail of the Highway police station, the official said. CBI team in Hathras victim’s village for questioning family members of accused: A TEAM of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the Hathras incident has reached the Bulgarhi village on Thursday to question the family members of the accused in the alleged gang-rape of a woman who died last month. The accused in the case have been identified as Sandeep, Ravi, Ramu, and Lavkush. On the fourth day of its investigation, the CBI is questioning the family members of the accused of the Hathras incident.