Hathras incident: SC transfers case to Allahabad High Court

"We transfer the Hathras gangrape case to the Allahabad High Court," the bench of the Apex Court said.

"The CBI will have to approach the Allah and High Court with its detailed status report in the case," a bench of the Apex Court, headed by CJI S A Bobde said.

The Supreme Court passed the order after concluding hearing from all respective parties arguments and submissions in the case.

The petitioners had approached the Supreme Court seeking a slew of directions including that of transferring the case to Delhi from Uttar Pradesh along with providing security to the witnesses in the matter, among others.

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad high court expressed dismay over reports describing how the victim was cremated in a hurried way allegedly without the consent of the family members. It took suo moto cognisance of the case and summoned top government and police officers of Uttar Pradesh. It has also heard the family members of the victim.

A Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four upper caste men on September 14 and was referred to Safdarjung Hospital in an extremely critical condition. She died two weeks later on September 29.

The accused — Sandeep, 20, his uncle Ravi, 35, and their friends Ramu, 26, and Luv Kush, 23 — have been booked on charges of murder, gangrape and under the SC/ST Act. They, however, have written to the Hathras Superintendent of Police, claiming they are “innocent” and that the 19-year-old woman was beaten up by her brother and mother on September 14, the day of the incident.

The woman’s death had sparked protests across the country, with opposition parties calling for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s resignation.