CBI probe in Hathras case to be monitored by Allahabad HC, says SC

A 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four upper-caste men in Hathras on September 14. She died on September 29 at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital during treatment.

New Delhi: The CBI investigation in the sensational Hathras case, in which a Dalit girl was allegedly brutally raped and died of injuries, will now be monitored by the Allahabad High Court, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said.

The apex court said that all the aspects of the case, including monitoring of probe and providing security to the victim’s family as well as the witnesses, would be considered by the high court.

---

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said the plea for transfer of trial in the case from out of Uttar Pradesh would be considered after the CBI probe is over.

The top court, which passed the verdict on a batch of pleas by activists and lawyers claiming that a fair trial is not possible in Uttar Pradesh as the probe has allegedly been botched up, said that CBI will file the status report in the case before the high court.

The bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, considered the request of Uttar Pradesh government and asked the Allahabad High Court to delete the victim’s name from one of its orders on a PIL pending there.

A 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four upper-caste men in Hathras on September 14. She died on September 29 at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital during treatment.

The victim was cremated in the dead of the night near her home on September 30. Her family alleged they were forced by the local police to hurriedly conduct her last rites. Local police officers, however, said the cremation was carried out “as per the wishes of the family”.

The apex court had on October 15 reserved its verdict on the pleas in the matter.

The lawyer, appearing for the victim’s family, had told the top court that trial in the case be shifted out of Uttar Pradesh to a court in the national capital after completion of investigation.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had referred to the affidavit filed in the apex court 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 given consent to monitoring by the apex court, had filed the affidavit after the top court sought details on witness protection and whether the victim’s family has chosen a lawyer.

Referring to the compliance affidavit, Mehta had said that they have engaged a lawyer and also requested that government advocate should also pursue the case on their behalf.