dhanbad judge hit and run

Dhanbad Judge Murder Probe: Jharkhand HC Reprimands CBI For Slow Progress Once Again

Seeking time to come out with “new facts”, the CBI told a division bench of the HC that it has questioned as many as 200 people in the past couple of months to unearth the identity of those responsible for killing the judge.

Ranchi: The Jharkhand high court on Friday, January 7 reprimanded the CBI yet again for the tardy progress of the probe into the murder of Dhanbad judge, Uttam Anand and directed it to file an affidavit on the new developments in the investigation.

Seeking time to come out with “new facts”, the CBI told a division bench of the high court that it had questioned as many as 200 people in the past couple of months to unearth the identity of those responsible for the killing of the judge.

Chief Justice Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad posted the matter for further hearing on January 14 and directed the CBI to furnish the affidavit on the new developments as mentioned by it.

Anand, an additional sessions and district judge, was run over by a auto rickshaw in the early hours of July 28 last year while he was out on his morning walk. The entire incident was captured on a CCTV camera installed by the Dhanbad district administration and had shocked the judiciary across the country. The Jharkhand high court has been monitoring the case from the beginning and has kept close tabs on the CBI investigation.

Also read: ‘Report After Report’: Jharkhand HC Once Again Pulls up CBI Over Dhanbad Judge Murder Probe

Earlier, too, the bench had conveyed its dismay on the poor pace of investigation. In December, it had said that the agency has been filing multiple reports but was unable to give plausible explanation for the events leading up to the murder. It had pulled up the CBI on multiple occasions.

In October, the HC had said that the investigating agency’s chargesheet in the case was like a “novel” and it had failed to substantiate the murder charge against the two accused persons.

On October 22, it had said the agency seems to have worked like babus (clerks) while completing the probe and had filed a “stereotype” chargesheet.

The CBI, on its part, had earlier assured the court several times that the investigation in the case was on in full swing and that the connections of the two accused with several persons was being explored to link them with Anand’s murder.

The Supreme Court had directed the Jharkhand high court to monitor the investigation in the case.

(PTI)

‘Report After Report’: Jharkhand HC Once Again Pulls up CBI Over Dhanbad Judge Murder Probe

The court had earlier compared the charge sheet to a “novel.”

New Delhi: The high court of Jharkhand on Friday, December 17, reprimanded the Central Bureau of Investigation again, pointing out that while it has been filing multiple reports, it has been unable to offer a plausible explanation of the events leading up to the Dhanbad judge’s murder case.

CCTV footage had showed Judge Uttam Anand, was jogging on one side of a fairly wide road at Randhir Verma Chowk near the district court early on July 28, being hit by a heavy auto-rickshaw which had specifically veered towards him and then fled the scene.

Locals found him in a pool of blood and took him to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Hearing the petition, a division bench of Chief Justice Dr. Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad observed, “The agency has been filing report after report and yet the motive and intention behind the murder and other persons involved in the conspiracy have not been named.”

In October, the high court had said the charge sheet filed by the CBI in the unnatural death case of a Dhanbad district judge in July is like a “novel” and in it, the agency had failed to substantiate the murder charge against the two accused.

The high court, on repeated occasions, has pulled up the CBI in the case. On October 22, it had said the agency seems to have worked like babus (bureaucrats) while completing the probe and had filed a “stereotype” charge sheet.

The CBI had earlier told the court several times that the investigation was proceeding “in full swing” and had even said that the connection of the two accused with several persons is being explored to link it with Anand’s murder.

Dhanbad police had seized the auto-rickshaw from Giridih district and arrested the auto-rickshaw driver Lakhan Verma and his assistant Rahul Verma. A special investigation team (SIT) of the state police was probing the case first, but the state government later handed it over to the CBI which started its investigation on August 4.

The Supreme Court had directed the Jharkhand high court to monitor the investigation of the case. The high court, too, had expressed displeasure at the manner of investigation into the case.

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana had even said that the central agencies are not ‘helping the judiciary at all’, while hearing a suo motu case on providing protection to judges.

Referring to Anand’s death, the CJI had said, “Look at the unfortunate case of the death of a young judge. It’s the state’s failure. This area has coal mafias and security should have been provided to the society and residences of judges.”

The bench had also described the death of the judge as the “state’s failure.”

(With PTI inputs)

Dhanbad Judge Death Case: Jharkhand HC Asks CBI to Be More Specific in Its Probe

Last month the CBI had doubled the bounty to Rs 10 lakh for “information of importance” in the death of the judge

Ranchi: The Jharkhand high court on Friday said the investigation report tabled by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is vague and not clear and ordered the investigating agency to be specific in its probe into the Dhanbad judge death case.

A division bench of Chief Justice Ravi Ranjan and Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary, who was sworn in during the day, said the special investigating team of CBI ought to be more accurate in furnishing the details of the investigation.

The bench conducted the hearing in the physical mode. The counsel for CBI informed the court that the investigation has revealed some new facts in the case.

The two accused who have been arrested have accepted their relation with several persons who are under the CBI scanner. It is, however, too early to disclose the names and more proof is awaited, the counsel said. The case will be heard again on October 21.

Last month, the CBI had doubled the bounty to Rs 10 lakh for “information of importance” in the death of the judge.

Also Read: Backstory: Have the Media Become Accessories to Covering up Murder?

The 49-year-old district judge was allegedly hit by a heavy autorickshaw after it veered towards him when he was out jogging on a wide road near Randhir Verma Chowk in Dhanbad on July 28 morning. The auto rickshaw had fled the scene immediately after the incident.

Meanwhile, the state government informed the court that it will complete all pending appointments in the Forensic State Laboratory within six months. Necessary funds required will also be released within this time to complete the appointments, the government pleader said.

The court fixed a three-month deadline to finish all pending appointments and vacant posts in the laboratory and cautioned that strict orders will be passed if the government fails to meet the deadline.

SC Anguished Over Incidents of Threat to Judges, Says IB and CBI Not Helping Judiciary

The bench termed the issue serious and told Attorney General K.K. Venugopal that some interest has to be taken to help the judiciary.

New Delhi: Expressing concern over the incidents of judges getting threats and abusive messages, the Supreme Court Friday said the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are not helping the judiciary at all and there is no freedom to a judicial officer to even make such complaints.

The apex court said there are several criminal cases involving gangsters and high-profile persons and at some places, judges of the trial courts as well as high courts are being threatened not only physically but also mentally through abusive messages on WhatsApp or Facebook.

“In one or two places, the court ordered CBI inquiry. It is very sorry to say that CBI has done nothing in more than one year. At one place, I know, CBI has done nothing. I think we have expected some changes in CBI’s attitude. But there is no change in the attitude of CBI. I am sorry to observe this but this is the situation,” said Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, who was heading a bench which also comprised Justice Surya Kant.

The bench told Attorney General K.K. Venugopal that in criminal cases where high-profile persons are involved, if they do not get expected orders from the court, they start maligning the judiciary.

“This is a new trend developed in the country unfortunately. There is no freedom to a judge even to give a complaint. Such a situation is created,” said the bench, which was hearing a suo motu case on the issue of safeguarding courts and protecting judges in the wake of recent incident of alleged mowing down of a judge at Dhanbad.

The CJI said when the judges complain to the police or the CBI or others, these agencies do not respond.

“They think it is not a priority item for them. The IB, CBI – they are not helping the judiciary at all. I am making this statement with a sense of responsibility and I know the incident that is the reason I am saying this. I do not want to divulge more than this, the CJI said.

The bench termed the issue serious and told Venugopal that some interest has to be taken to help the judiciary.

Venugopal said judges dealing with criminal cases are very vulnerable and said there has to be safety measures for them.

Also read: Supreme Court Registrars, Lawyers of Key Clients , Justice Arun Mishra’s Old Number on Pegasus Radar

He said judges are more vulnerable than the bureaucrats who take decisions within the four corners of their rooms.

Venugopal said he would file his written note on the issue.

Meanwhile, the bench issued a notice to the CBI after it was informed by the Jharkhand government that investigation into the death of the judge in Dhanbad has been handed over to the probe agency.

The apex court also asked all the states to file status reports explaining what security they are providing to the judicial officers.

At the outset, Jharkhand’s advocate general Rajiv Ranjan told the bench that the state had constituted a 22-member special investigation team (SIT) which had arrested the two drivers of the auto-rickshaw which had hit the judge when he was on morning walk on July 28.

Ranjan said the case has now been handed over to the CBI.

“So, you have washed off your hands?” the bench said.

To this, Ranjan said SIT had collected several evidence, and since the area is a border district with West Bengal, there might be a larger conspiracy and cross-border implications.

“We will hear the Jharkhand matter on Monday (August 9). We are issuing notice to the CBI,” the bench said.

It asked Jharkhand’s counsel whether they have provided adequate security at the residence of judges in the state.

The counsel said orders have been issued and adequate police protection has been provided at the residences and colonies of the judicial officers.

Referring to the Dhanbad incident, the bench said it is an unfortunate case where a young judicial officer lost his life.

“We cannot ignore the state’s negligence. We know in Dhanbad area there are mafias, coal mafias. Advocates were killed, judges were attacked but in spite of that, state has not done anything,” the bench observed.

The state’s counsel apprised the bench about the steps being taken in this regard and also about beefing up of security in court premises by installing more CCTV cameras and having boundary walls.

Also read: India’s Oligarchy Shuts the People Out – And the Constitution Is To Blame

The bench observed that hardened criminals cannot be stopped by these boundary walls.

During the hearing, the bench told Venugopal that a writ petition was filed in the apex court in 2019 seeking certain directions, including on security in court premises and also to create an environment where the judges can work independently.

In that case, it appears that Government of India has not filed any counter affidavit so far, the bench said.

When Venugopal said he would look into it, the bench asked him to ensure that counter affidavit is filed so that the court can take a final call in the matter.

The petition filed in 2019 was also taken up for hearing by the bench along with the suo motu case.

The apex court asked the states to file status report regarding security provided to the judges and posted it for hearing on August 17.

District and Sessions Judge-8 of Dhanbad court, Uttam Anand, was out on morning walk on July 28 when he was killed by an auto-rickshaw at Randhir Verma Chowk near the district court in the Sadar police station area.

On July 30, the top court had taken suo motu cognisance and had sought a status report within a week from Jharkhand’s chief secretary and the DGP on the probe, saying reports and video clippings suggested it was not a case of simpliciter road accident.

(PTI)

Dhanbad Judge’s Death Case: CM Orders CBI Probe, Cop Suspended for Not Filing FIR on Time

The 49-year-old judge was allegedly mowed down by a heavy autorickshaw while he was on morning jog on July 28 morning in Dhanbad.

New Delhi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has decided to hand over the probe into hit-and-run case of Dhanbad judge to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Meanwhile, the officer-in-charge of Jharkhand’s Pathardih police station, Umesh Manjhi, has been suspended for not registering an FIR on time in connection with the death, reports have said.

An official spokesman said that the chief minister has recommended handing over the probe in the death of District and Sessions court-8 judge Uttam Anand to the premier investigating agency.

The 49-year-old judge was allegedly mowed down by a heavy autorickshaw while he was on morning jog on July 28 morning in Dhanbad.

The Jharkhand government had set up a Special Investigation Team to crack the judge’s death case. After meeting the family members of the judge, Soren had on Friday said the government was serious on the matter and had assured the family that justice will be done.

“It is state government’s priority to complete the investigation of this incident at a speedy pace and provide justice to the family members,” Soren had told the family.

The Supreme Court and also the Jharkhand high court had expressed concerns over the matter and directed the state police to solve the case speedily.

Lawyers across Jharkhand had on Friday abstained from judicial work responding to the call of all 37 bar associations including 24 district bar associations, 12 sub divisional bar associations and the Advocates Association at Jharkhand high court to protest against the judge’s death and an advocate’s murder in the state.

The lawyers had abstained from work to express solidarity and demanded implementation of Advocates Protection Act, he said.

The Supreme Court Friday took suo motu cognisance of the incident.

“We direct the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) of Jharkhand to submit a report in a week’s time on the status of investigation on the sad demise of additional district and sessions Judge Uttam Anand, said the bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana.

Also read: Two Arrested In Connection With Dhanbad Judge’s Death; SC Takes Suo Motu Cognisance

The bench had said it was concerned with the larger issues such as the nature of the incident and the steps taken by the state governments for protection of judicial officers inside and outside the court premises .

Jharkhand’s Chief Justice Ravi Ranjan had on Thursday said, “If at any point of time it appears to the court that the investigation is not heading in the right direction, then the case will be handed over to the CBI.”

CCTV footages showed that the judge was jogging on one side of a fairly wide road at Randhir Verma Chowk early on Wednesday when a heavy auto-rickshaw veered towards him, hit him from behind and fled the scene.

Locals took him to a nearby hospital, where the doctors had declared him dead on arrival.

The Jharkhand police had on Thursday arrested two persons, auto drivers, Lakhan Verma and his helper Rahul Verma, in connection with the case.

The arrests were made following the recovery of the three-wheeler involved in the incident, Senior Superintendent of Police, Dhanbad, Sanjiv Kumar, had said, adding the three-wheeler recovered from Giridih is registered in a woman’s name.

A Dhanbad district court had late Thursday night sent the two to five days police custody.

(With PTI inputs)

Two Arrested In Connection With Dhanbad Judge’s Death; SC Takes Suo Motu Cognizance

The top court said that it is concerned with the “larger issue” of the nature of the incident and the steps taken by the state governments to protect judicial officers inside and outside the court premises.

New Delhi: Two persons were arrested on Thursday in connection with the ‘hit-and-run’ case in Dhanbad which killed judge Uttam Anand during his morning jog.

The arrests were made following the recovery of the three-wheeler involved in the incident, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Dhanbad, Sanjiv Kumar, told news agency PTI.

CCTV footage showed that Anand, the district and sessions judge-8 of the Dhanbad court, was jogging on one side of a fairly wide road at Randhir Verma Chowk early on Wednesday when a heavy auto-rickshaw veered towards him, hit him from behind and fled the scene. This raised concerns that it was not a hit-and-run case and that the auto may have rammed him deliberately.

Locals took him to a nearby hospital, where the doctors declared him dead on arrival.

According to sources in the Dhanbad court, Anand, known to be a strict judge, had recently declined the bail pleas of some gangsters. Police have said it is too soon to link this decision with the hit-and-run case.

“We have arrested two persons, auto driver Lakhan Verma and his helper Rahul Verma, on Thursday morning. Rahul Verma, a resident of Digwadih, Dhanbad, was arrested from a tempo stand, while the other person was held in Giridih,” the SSP told PTI.

He also said that the three-wheeler, recovered from Giridih, is registered in a woman’s name.

Police sources told The Hindu that the auto-rickshaw was stolen at around 2 am on Wednesday. The judge was hit at around 5 am.

An FIR was filed in the case after the wife of the 49-year-old deceased judged lodged a complaint with the Dhanbad Police. “We are probing the case from all angles, including murder,” Kumar asserted.

A special investigation team (SIT), led by Dhanbad SP R. Ramkumar, has been constituted to investigate the case.

A five-member forensic team visited the site of the incident on Thursday to collect samples necessary for the investigation.

Meanwhile, the Dhanbad Bar Association here claimed that Anand, who hailed from Hazaribag, was murdered and demanded a thorough probe into the incident.

All lawyers of the Dhanbad Bar Association will take out a silent procession on Friday in protest against the murder of the judge and demand protection for lawyers from the government, said its president Amarendra Sahay.

Condemning the incident, the Jharkhand Bar Council member Hemant Sikarwa demanded a CBI probe into the case.

Earlier in the day, the Jharkhand high court ordered an SIT probe into the death of Anand, under the leadership of the additional director general of police Sanjay Latkar.

Taking cognizance of a letter filed before the court by the Dhanbad principal district judge in the case, Chief Justice Ravi Ranjan converted it into a writ petition and ordered the formation of the SIT.

He said the Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana has spoken to him regarding the matter and expressed confidence that a fair investigation will be carried out in the case.

The high court stated it will monitor the probe and sought updates from the SIT from time to time.

If at any point in time it appears to the court that the investigation is not heading in the right direction, then the case will be handed over to the CBI, the chief justice added.

Supreme Court takes suo motu cognizance

On Friday, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the judge’s killing. According to LiveLaw, a bench headed by CJI Ramana directed the chief secretary and director general of police, Jharkhand, to submit a report on the status of the inquiry into judge Anand’s death within a week.

The suo moto case is titled “In Re Safeguarding Courts and Protecting Judges (Death of Additional Sessions Judge, Dhanbad).

The report said that the top court made it clear that it is aware the Jharkhand HC is “seized of the matter” and this suo motu cognisance will not interfere in the proceedings before that court.

According to LiveLaw, the bench said it is concerned with the “larger issue” of the nature of the incident and the steps taken by the state governments to protect judicial officers inside and outside the court premises.

The bench observed similar incidents are happening across the country and the issue “requires a larger consideration for a detailed examination” of the protection of judicial officers and the interests of the legal fraternity.

(With PTI inputs)