Lawyer for Kathua rape victim’s family seeks to shift case to Supreme Court

Deepika Singh Rawat says she will be filing an application in the Supreme Court for transferring the Kathua rape case out of Jammu and Kashmir for a fair trial.

The counsel for the family of the eight-year-old girl raped and murdered in Kathua, Deepika Singh Rajawat, on Friday said she will be filing an application in the Supreme Court for transferring the case out of Jammu and Kashmir for a fair trial.

People hold up placards demanding justice for the rape victims of Kathua and Unnao during a candlelight march at the India Gate in New Delhi on Friday. (PTI)

The first hearing in the case is scheduled for April 16 at the court of the chief judicial magistrate, Kathua.

“I will move a transfer application before the Supreme Court soon and will get the case shifted to a safer place outside the state. I haven’t yet applied the transfer application,” Rajawat said.

The eight-year-old girl from the Bakerwal nomadic tribe was brutally gang-raped and murdered in Kathua district in January.

Read | Rape has no religion, says Kashmiri Pandit lawyer fighting for Kathua girl

The country has seen growing outrage over the rape and murder of the girl and subsequent attempts by a section of people to defend the accused, including a juvenile. The chargesheet filed by the crime branch of the Jammu and Kashmir police says a retired revenue department official planned the crimes against the girl to create fear among her community and get them to leave their village.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud sought responses from the Bar Council of India, state bar council, Jammu High Court Bar Association and Kathua district bar association by April 19.