SC directs that Allahabad HC will monitor CBI probe in Hathras case; no immediate transfer

In a big verdict, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the CBI investigation in the Hathras case will be monitored by the Allahabad High Court. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde 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. The bench also said that the plea for transfer of the trial out of Uttar Pradesh in the case would be considered later, after the CBI probe is completed.

The top court passed the verdict on a batch of pleas by activists and lawyers who have claimed that a fair trial was not possible in Uttar Pradesh as the probe has allegedly been botched up. The bench also considered the request of the 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. 

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Hathras case in Supreme Court

Appearing for the UP government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta highlighted the security detail provided to the victim's family, maintaining that CRPF security is not necessary as the 'state is non-partisan'. Advocate Seema Kushwaha, representing the victim's family, argued that the trial should be transferred to Delhi while Indira Jaising argued that CRPF protection must be provided to the family. Meanwhile, advocate Siddharth Luthra - representing one of the accused, has asked that the family must not reveal details of the investigation to the media - the SC has allowed him to approach the Allahabad High Court. 

Previously, the UP govt informed that eight CCTV cameras have been installed outside the victim's home to ensure their security. The state government too has asked the apex court to monitor the CBI probe as the team began its investigation on Tuesday. The team head along led by Dy SP Seema Pahuja has visited the field where the victim was allegedly strangled, along with the victim's mother and brother, for recreating the crime scene. The team which was accompanied by a forensic expert and police personnel also visited the site where the victim was cremated by police, allegedly without the family's permission.

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What is the Hathras rape case?

A 19-year-old Dalit woman was reported to have allegedly been raped by four upper-caste men in a field on September 14 - all accused have been arrested. The victim succumbed to her injuries and her autopsy report read spinal cord injuries, paralysis, and cuts in her tongue with no mention of rape. Citing it, the police has claimed that the victim was 'not raped' highlighting that 'neck injury and trauma' were mentioned as the cause of death and that no traces of sperm were found in her private parts.

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The case took an ugly turn when UP police cremated the victim's body at 2:30 AM on September 30, allegedly without the family's consent, which has been refuted by the police. Five police officers including the district's Police Superintendent (SP) Vikrant Vir have been suspended for the 'midnight funeral'. The family has been offered an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakhs, govt job to one family member and a house by the state govt as several upper-caste men protest outside the victim's home, in favour of the accused, stating that 'no rape occurred'.  The UP government's SIT is still probing as the case has now transferred to the CBI, which has begun its investigation.

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