New Delhi, April 15: A five-member committee of the Bar Council of India (BCI) will visit Kathua city in Jammu and Kashmir and submit a factual report on the case of the rape of a minor girl after seeking time from the Supreme Court on April 19, BCI Chairman Manan Mishra said on Sunday.
The fact-finding team will have former BCI chief Tarun Agarwal, BCI Co-Chairmen S. Prabakaran and Ramachandra G. Shah, and members Razia Beig of the Bar Council of Uttrakhand and Naresh Dikshit, an advocate.
They will visit the state and reach out to office-bearers of the Bar Associations of Jammu and Kathua and also meet the affected families and the common people to figure out what actually transpired, Mishra told reporters here.
He said that the BCI in its Friday meeting had decided to dispatch the team to Kathua on April 20.
"I have communicated this to the President of Bar Associations of Jammu and Kathua. I was given full assurance of an immediate end to the lawyers strike and of full cooperation to the visiting BCI team," he said.
Mishra claimed that the BCI was told that the reason behind the lawyers' protests in Jammu was not to defend the accused but were instead focused against certain laws passed by the Jammu and Kashmir government.
Mishra said if the committee finds misconduct on the part of the lawyers, the BCI has the authority to cancel the licences of those involved in creating the controversy and maligning the legal profession.
"In case some outsiders, not associated with the Bar Council, are involved in creating a controversy, we may not be able to take action against such persons. Our jurisdiction is limited to Bar Council members only. If we find them responsible for obstructing the legal process, we will definitely take action against them by cancelling their registrations for life or for limited period," he added.
The BCI chief said that the follow-up action would be decided once the team files its report.
An eight-year-old Bakarwal girl had gone missing on January 10 while grazing horses in Rasana forest in Kathua's Hiranagar area. Her body was found a week later. Police investigations revealed she was held captive inside a temple, sedated and repeatedly raped before her murder.
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India submits nomination of Meghalaya's living root bridges for UNESCO World Heritage site
Shillong (PTI): India has submitted to UNESCO in Paris the nomination dossier of Meghalaya's living root bridges for consideration to include in the World Heritage list 2026-27, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Thursday.
The dossier was handed over by India's Ambassador Vishal V Sharma to UNESCO's World Heritage Centre Director Lazare Assomo Eloundou, a statement said.
"We are hopeful that the living root bridges will be inscribed this year, ensuring that the indigenous communities, the true guardians of this living heritage, receive the global recognition they so richly deserve," Sangma said on X.
While submitting the dossier, Sharma, the Permanent Representative to UNESCO, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the Meghalaya CM for their support to the nomination, the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO said in a statement.
Sharma also acknowledged the role of Meghalaya Principal Secretary Frederick Kharkongor, officers of the Archaeological Survey of India, the Ministry of External Affairs, experts and the local communities in safeguarding the property and preparing the nomination.
Located across the southern slopes of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of the northeastern state, the nominated property represents a living cultural landscape shaped over centuries by indigenous Khasi and Jaintia communities.
"The landscape reflects a deep-rooted and harmonious relationship between people, nature and spirituality, embodied in traditional systems of land use, governance and ecological stewardship," the statement said.
The indigenous worldview underpinning the cultural landscape is anchored in principles of respect, reciprocity and responsibility towards Mei Ramew (Mother Earth), it said.
"The submission of this nomination underscores India's commitment to recognising and preserving living cultural traditions and indigenous knowledge systems, and to advancing global heritage conservation efforts through UNESCO," the statement added.
