Jharkhand HC has already taken up matter of Dhanbad judicial officer's 'killing', says SC
CCTV footage of Dhanbad judge's road 'accident' spurs outrage
New Delhi, Jul 29: The Supreme Court Thursday said the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court has already taken up the matter related to the alleged killing of a judicial officer of Dhanbad and concerned officers in the case have been asked to be present before it.
A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justice Surya Kant said this after senior advocate Vikas Singh, who is also the president of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), mentioned the matter and said this is a brazen attack on the independence of judiciary.
Singh said investigation in the case must be entrusted to the CBI as killing of a judicial officer, apparently for not granting bail to a gangster is an assault on the judicial system.
We are aware of the incident and we appreciate the efforts of SCBA. I have spoken to the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. He has taken up the case and has asked the officers to be present there. The matter is going on there. Leave it there, the CJI told Singh.
Interference by the apex court in the matter at this stage may not be necessary as the high court has already taken it up on the judicial side, the bench said.
Singh, while saying that video of the incident was also shot, told the bench that if somebody is killed for not granting bail to a gangster, then there will be no judiciary in the country .
On Wednesday morning, a judicial officer was killed in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district after being hit by a vehicle, police had said.
District and Sessions Judge-8 of Dhanbad court, Uttam Anand, was out on morning walk when the incident happened at Randhir Verma Chowk near the district court in the Sadar police station area, a senior police officer had said.
Around 5 am, a vehicle hit him from the rear and fled, Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Kumar had said.
The judge was found to be lying in a pool of blood by an auto-rickshaw driver, who took him to the Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College and Hospital where he succumbed to the injuries, the officer had said.
Prior to mentioning the matter before the CJI-led bench, Singh mentioned it before a bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud.
Singh termed the incident shocking and said the apex court should take cognisance of the matter.
Justice Chandrachud told Singh to mention the matter before the CJI.
When Singh said mentioning may not be allowed before the CJI, Justice Chandrachud assured him that he would use his "good office" to bring the matter to the notice of the CJI.
After mentioning the matter before the CJI, Singh appeared before Justice Chandrachud-led bench to argue another case which was listed for hearing.
Justice M R Shah, who was part of the bench headed by Justice Chandrachud, asked Singh why was the video of the incident was shot as it could be used as evidence.
Singh said persons involved in this wanted to terrorize people by shooting the video.
This is tyranny. This was brazen and they wanted to terrorize people. The video is not shot from any CCTV cameras but from a video camera as people can be heard talking and it was even zoomed in several times, he said.
When Justice Shah said what could be the reason behind the incident, Singh said the judicial officer had passed unpleasant bail order against some gangster.
"Anyway, I have mentioned this before the CJI, who said that he has talked to the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court. The chief justice of high court is taking up the matter on the judicial side," Singh said.
धनबाद के ज़िला सत्र जज उत्तम आनंद का बुधवार सुबह मोर्निंग वॉक में एक ऑटो के ठक्कर में मौत का मामला गहराता जा रहा हैं @ndtvindia @Anurag_Dwary pic.twitter.com/oV3m3Ca6x0
— manish (@manishndtv) July 28, 2021
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
