SC to hear case related to suspected murder of Jharkhand judge today

The Supreme Court will hear a case related to the recent incident of alleged mowing down of a judge at Dhanbad in Jharkhand. Uttam Anand was district and sessions judge-8 of the Dhanbad court. He was out on his morning walk when a vehicle hit him. Anand was rushed to a hospital but died of his injuries. Examination of CCTV footage sparked suspicion that a four-wheeler deliberately hit the judge, who was walking on the edge of the road.

On July 30, the top court had taken suo motu cognisance and had sought a status report within a week from Jharkhand's chief secretary and the DGP on the probe, saying reports and video clippings suggested it was not a case of simpliciter road accident. The probe was handed over to the CBI.

The Supreme Court had termed "serious the incidents of judges being threatened and asked the states to file status reports on the security they are providing to the judicial officers". The bench told Attorney General K.K. Venugopal that there are several cases which involve gangsters and high-profile persons and there are instances of judges getting threats or abusive messages. There is no freedom to the judges to even file a complaint, the bench said, adding that police or the CBI is not helping the judiciary if such complaints are filed.