Kathua gangrape: Fair trial a ‘real concern’, says SC, hints at shifting case out of Jammu

Supreme Court says the Kathua gangrape and murder trial should be fair not only for the accused but also for the victim’s family.

The Supreme Court on Thursday hinted at the possibility of moving the Kathua gangrape case out of Jammu, saying it’s a “real concern” to see that a fair trial is conducted.

“Fair trial is the consideration and we are concerned with the interest of victim and accused... If we find slightest possibility of a lack of a fair trial, we will transfer the case out of Kathua,” the top court said.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices AM Khanwilkar and DY 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.

It also ruled out a CBI probe and said it should be circumspect while transferring it to another agency.

The bench also considered the issue of alleged obstruction by lawyers in the administration of justice in the case and said, “If the lawyers are at fault, they would be dealt in accordance with the law.”

The court was considering the plea of the accused, Sanji Ram and Vishal Jangotra, that they be impleaded as parties to the petition filed by the rape victim’s father.

The eight-year-old’s father had moved the apex court earlier, apprehending a threat to the family, a friend and their lawyer Deepika Singh Rajawat.

Expressing satisfaction with the probe conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir police in the case, the father had also sought a transfer of the trial from Kathua court to Chandigarh.

However, the accused are asking for the opposite, seeking a CBI probe and a trial in Kathua district itself.

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.

The state police’s Crime Branch, which probed the case, filed the main chargesheet against seven persons and a separate charge sheet against a juvenile in a court in Kathua district last week. The chargesheet revealed chilling details about how the girl was allegedly kidnapped, drugged and raped inside a place of worship before being killed.