A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde will on Tuesday hear a writ petition seeking a CBI or Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the brutal gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh.
The petition filed by Delhi-based activist Satyama Dubey, through advocate Sanjeev Malhotra, said the investigation should be monitored by a former Supreme Court or High Court judge. It said the trial of the accused persons should be shifted to Delhi.
Ms. Dubey said a fair investigation should encompass the circumstances after the victim’s death at the Safdarjung Hospital, including media reports about the police rushing through a midnight cremation in the absence of her family. The family alleged that they were not allowed to perform her last rites.
The case has created a public furore with the National Human Rights Commission issuing notice to the Uttar Pradesh administrative and police establishments. The Delhi Commission for Women chief has already written to the CJI to take suo motu cognisance of the case. The State government has set up a fast-track court.
“The police authorities had not performed their duties towards the victim and are trying to shield the accused persons for reasons best known to them… The family of the victim was victimised by upper-caste persons and no action has been taken by the authorities or the police,” the petition said.
