Bar Council Panel Defends Kathua Lawyers, Says Media ‘Misreported’
The committee report also sought to back the demand for a CBI inquiry, saying that it “appears to be justifiable”.
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Amidst allegations that the lawyers of Kathua and J&K High Court bar associations have sought to defend the accused in the high-profile Kathua rape case, a committee constituted by the Bar Council of India (BCI) has categorically dismissed these charges and come down heavily against the media for “misreporting”.
A report by the five-member committee led by a retired High Court judge said that “media has misreported the entire episode, especially, relating to the conduct of the advocates of Kathua Bar Association and J&K High Court Bar Association.”
The committee report, dated 22 April, has also sought to back the demand for a CBI inquiry by the two bar associations, saying that it “appears to be justifiable”.
‘Kathua Lawyers Did Not Obstruct Police From Filing Chargesheet’
The report comes after the Jammu and Kathua lawyers had been pulled up for demanding that the case be taken over by the CBI, and for allegedly opposing the process of the chargesheet being formed.
However, the BCI committee report has indicated that the lawyers did not obstruct justice in the Kathua rape case, dismissing the allegations that members of the Kathua bar association restricted the crime branch officials from filing the chargesheet.
‘J&K Lawyers Did Not Restrain Deepika Rajawat’
The report also sought to categorically deny the allegations of Deepika Singh Rajawat, the lawyer for the victim’s family, being threatened by the president of the J&K Bar Association. It went on to say:
Meanwhile, advocate Shoeb Alam, appearing for the state in the Supreme Court, had opposed the BCI's report and maintained that the police team was heckled allegedly by lawyers due to which they could not file the chargesheet in the trial court.
Alam told the bench that the report of BCI cannot be relied upon since no Crime Branch officers, who were allegedly stopped by agitating lawyers at Kathua, were heard.
He pointed out the report of the high court and drew the attention to a separate report of a District Judge at Kathua, stating that the report reveals worrying findings on the "obstruction" of officers and justice administration system.
The matter will be next heard on 30 July.
SC Stays Trial Till 7 May
The Supreme Court, on 27 April, stayed the trial in the Kathua case till 7 May, after it was seized with petitions seeking shifting of the trial to Chandigarh and handing over the investigation to the CBI.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra said it will deal with the prayer of the victim's father for shifting of trial to Chandigarh and plea of the accused seeking handing over the probe to CBI.
The bench posted the matter for further hearing on 7 May.
The eight-year-old child from a minority nomadic community had disappeared from near her home in a village near Kathua in Jammu region on 10 January. Her body was found in the same area a week later.
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