Dhanbad judge death case: SC asks Jharkhand HC to monitor CBI probe every week

New Delhi:The Supreme Court Monday has asked the Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice to monitor weekly the progress made in the CBI probe into the alleged murder of Dhanbad Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Uttam Anand on July 28.

 A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana found that the sealed cover submitted by CBI did not contain much details. Hence, the apex court has asked for concrete details such as arrests made and seizing of vehicles done by the state.

The court said that CBI had not indicated anything about the intention or motive of the murder in their report.

However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for CBI, said that the investigation is progressing and some people are arrested too, but much of the details cannot be divulged at the moment.

On July 28, district judge Uttam Anand, aged 49, was killed by an auto, which rammed him while he was on his morning run. The incident was first perceived to be a hit-and-run but later found it was not.

In a CCTV footage that surfaced online, the auto was going straight for the judge along a deserted road and hit him. The deceased judge had been handling many cases of mafia killings in Dhanbad. He had declined bail requests of two gangsters and was also hearing a murder case involving an MLA's aide.

On July 30, the Supreme Court took up the case on its own and said that it had "wider ramifications".

On August 4, the CBI has taken the case from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Jharkhand, which the state government constituted on the Jharkhand High Court's directive.

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