Murder Of Jharkhand Judge In Daylight: SCBA President Mentioned Matter Before SC; Seeks CBI Probe

Factual Background

• Additional District Judge Uttam Anand of Jharkhand was murdered in broad daylight.
• He was posted as Additional District and Sessions Judge VII at Dhanbad.
• The vehicle was seized, which was stolen the previous night of the incident and two suspects have been arrested.

Request by Senior Advocate Vikas Singh

• The President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Senior Advocate Vikas Singh brought this incident to the attention of the Supreme Court.
• The Senior Advocate stated that the murder of a judge in daylight when he was on a morning walk by running over him with a vehicle is a “brazen attack on the judiciary”.
• The attack can be seen in the CCTV footage and a person could be seen zooming on the visuals to confirm if the judge was killed.
• The judge who was murdered dealt with bail applications of gangsters and it is shocking to see such an open attack on the independence of judiciary.
• When a judge who rejects a bail of a gangster is killed in such a manner, the judiciary of the country would not exist.
• The Supreme Court should take suo moto cognizance of the matter and it should be investigated by the CBI.

Views of Justice Chandrachud

• Justice Chandrachud made the suggestion of mentioning it before the Chief Justice of India, to which the Advocate stated that it was not available.
• Justice Chandrachud had stated that he would use his good offices to convey this message to the CJI and the Advocate had also agreed to attempt mentioning the incident before the CJI.

Views of Chief Justice of India

• After the matter was mentioned before the Hon’ble CJI, he had a word with the Secretary General and Registrar General of Jharkhand HC and the Court has already initiated investigation into the issue.
• The CJI stated that Supreme Court’s interference would not be necessary at this point.

What is do you think of the murder of the Judge? Do you think the judiciary is still safe? Tell us in the comments section below!