The Supreme Court said on Thursday its “real concern” was to see that a fair trial was conducted in the Kathua gangrape and murder case in which the victim was an eight-year-old girl.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said if it found slightest possibility of a lack of fair trial, it would transfer the case out of Kathua.
The bench, also comprising Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice D Y Chandrachud, said the trial should be fair not only for the accused but also for the victim’s family, and the protection to them and their lawyers should be ensured.
Meanwhile, according to a report in News18, the Bar Council of India has backed the demand for CBI probe in the Kathua case as its inquiry panel termed the demand as justified.
The panel has also rejected the allegations against lawyers of the Jammu Bar Association that they threatened the victim’s lawyer, Deepika Singh Rajawat, and that they were preventing the police from filing chargesheet in the court.
The Supreme Court had earlier considered the issue of alleged obstruction by lawyers in administration of justice in the case and said if the lawyers were at fault, they would be dealt with in accordance with law.
The child from a minority nomadic community had disappeared from near her home in a village near Kathua in Jammu region on January 10. Her body was found in the same area a week later.
As many as nine accused, including a police head constable and two special police officers (SPOs) and a sub-inspector of police, were arrested in the case.
(With agency inputs)