INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
by an accused in the Kathua gang rape and murder case seeking fresh investigation in the matter on grounds that the probe was allegedly
motivated.A bench of Justices UU Lalit and DY Chandrachud also rejected a separate plea filed by two other accused in the case seeking
transfer of the investigation in the matter to an independent agency.The bench, while declining both the pleas, said the accused could raise
this issue before the lower court during the ongoing trial.Two of the accused had in April sought transfer of the probe to the Central
Bureau of Investigation, saying they were "falsely implicated and arrayed as accused persons in the case".The accused had said in their plea
that Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees fair investigation as well as trial to the accused and it is absolutely necessary for
preservation of fundamental rights."Therefore, investigation must be fair, transparent and judicious as it is the minimum requirement of
The investigating agency cannot be permitted to conduct an investigation in a tainted and biased manner," the plea had said.An
eight-year-old girl from a minority nomadic community, had disappeared from near her home in a village close to Kathua in Jammu region on
Her body was found in the same area a week later.The state police's crime branch, which probed the case, filed the main charge sheet against
seven people and a separate charge sheet against a juvenile revealing chilling details about how the minor girl was allegedly kidnapped,
