Supreme Court on Tuesday has stated that Allahabad High Court will continue to monitor the CBI probe in Hathras gangrape and murder case. There is no immediate need to transfer the trial neither to Delhi High court nor to Supreme Court, said SC.
While hearing a plea on Tuesday, CJI SA Bobde said, "All aspects are being gone over by the high court and the CBI will report back to the high court."
“Once the investigation is complete, the transfer of trial outside Uttar Pradesh can be considered. As of now, CBI is dealing with it and there is no cause of apprehension. All aspects are being taken into consideration by the high court,” said Supreme Court.
The apex court's judgment came while hearing a batch of pleas which have sought a court-monitored probe into the Hathras case in which a 19-year-old Dalit girl was brutally gang-raped and left to die on the fields on September 14. Two weeks later, the victim succumbed to her injuries at a hospital in Delhi.
The Supreme Court bench further noted on Tuesday, “So far as the transfer is concerned, it is appropriate for the investigating agency to complete the investigation.”
Public interest litigation (PIL) and several intervention pleas of activists and lawyers were filed in which the petitioners argued that a fair trial was not possible in Uttar Pradesh as the probe has allegedly been botched up.
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Allahabad High Court took cognizance of the Hathras case following the late-night cremation of the victim without the consent of her parents that triggered massive protests across the nation.
The court has accepted the Uttar Pradesh government’s stand that protection is being given to the witnesses and the victim’s family and also that the investigation has been transferred to CBI.
Regarding the plea of the victim's family lawyer for shifting of trial to Delhi, the top court observed that the shifting will be decided at a future stage. The bench said that the issue has been kept open and it would be taken up, if required, after the completion of the probe.
On the request of the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, the top court has requested the Allahabad High Court to erase the details of the victim and her family recorded in the order.