SC to hear plea alleging torture of Kathua witness

The Supreme Court will take up a plea alleging torture of Talib Hussain, key witness in the shocking Kathua gang-rape and murder case, by Jammu and Kashmir Police.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices D Y Chandrachud and Indira Banerjee considered the submission of a close relative of Hussain, seeking urgent hearing.

Lawyer Sunil Fernandes mentioned the plea filed by a relative of Hussain, an activist of Bakarwal community, seeking protection for him in police custody. The plea alleged that Hussain was brutally beaten up in a fake rape case.

A habeas corpus petition (plea to produce body) was filed by a cousin of the witness.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, counsel for the petitioner, said Hussain has been subjected to torture in Sambha in the state and sought "judicial intervention".