Amid the controversial death of Dhanbad Additional District Judge Uttam Anand, the Jharkhand government has recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in the case. The Jharkhand government on Thursday had informed the High Court that the investigation of the murder of Uttam Anand will be conducted by a special investigation team led by the additional DG of police(operations), Sanjay Anand Lathkar.
The Supreme Court on Friday took suo motu cognizance of the shocking demise of the judge. While making it clear that proceedings before the Jharkhand High Court to monitor the probe into the death of the judicial officer would continue, a bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana said it was taking suo motu cognizance of the matter as incidents of attacks on judicial officers and the legal fraternity are happening across country.
The bench said that after taking into consideration the incidents of attacks against judicial officers, it thought it 'proper' to take suo motu cognizance of the matter as the issue required detailed examination.
The bench, which also comprised Justice Surya Kant, issued notice to all the states and specifically sought the presence of Jharkhand Advocate General when it hears the case next week.
On Thursday, the top court said the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court has already taken up the matter related to the alleged killing of the judicial officer.
District and Sessions Judge-8 of Dhanbad court, Uttam Anand, was out on morning walk on Wednesday when he was killed by an auto-rickshaw at Randhir Verma Chowk near the district court in the Sadar police station area.
The High Court had converted a report sent by the district and sessions judge of Dhanbad on the murder of his colleague into a writ petition and directed the government to ensure proper investigation of the case.
