JOIN USSCBA President raises issue of alleged killing of Jharkhand judge
SC Bar Association president and senior advocate Vikas Singh on Thursday asked the top court to take Suo Motu cognisance of the incident related to the killing of Additional District Judge Dhanbad, Uttam Anand in Jharkhand.
"If someone is killed like this after rejecting a gangster's bail, it is dangerous situation for the judiciary," he said, mentioning the matter before a bench presided over by Chief Justice N V Ramana.
The Chief Justice of India said he spoke to the Chief Justice of the High court in the morning about the incident.
"The HC has issued notice to the police and district officials. They are hearing this matter on Thursday. Let them handle it. It does not require interference by us at this stage," the CJI said.
Singh said the issue is an important one and is in the interest of justice.
"We are aware of this incident, and also at the same time, we are overwhelmed with the initiative of the SCBA and also appreciated the steps taken by it (SCBA)," the bench said.
Before mentioning the matter in the court of the CJI bench, Singh sought to raise it before a bench presided over by D Y Chandrachud.
"This is a brazen attack on the independence of the judiciary. The video which has gone viral was actually being taken by someone who was recording with prior knowledge of the attack," Singh said.
He said that the CCTV footage of the area should be taken on record. "This incident looks like a premeditated attack on the judge," he said.
Justice Chandrachud, however, asked him to mention the matter before the CJI, though he assured that he will use his good offices to convey the message to the CJI.
ADJ Anand was hit by an auto-rickshaw on his morning walk on Wednesday. He was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to the injuries. The CCTV footage showed that he was deliberately hit by the auto-rickshaw which was stolen the previous night. The wife of the deceased judge has reportedly lodged a murder case against unknown people. The judge was said to be handling cases related to gangsters.