Kathua rape-murder: No uploading of trial proceedings from today
In legal parlance ‘in-camera’ proceedings are a process where the public and press are not allowed to know about the proceedings.
After the Jammu-based advocate, representing the case of Kathua rape and murder accused, pleaded against uploading of daily proceedings on the internet, district and sessions judge Tejwinder Singh, hearing the case, passed an order on Wednesday stating that from Friday the trial proceedings cannot be uploaded on the internet.
The Jammu-based lawyer objected that the Supreme Court had ordered an “in-camera” trial of the case and the trial proceedings should not be uploaded on the internet so that witnesses could feel protected and the accused feel safe in the court.
Advocates had claimed that in legal parlance ‘in-camera’ proceedings are a process where the public and press are not allowed to know about the proceedings. ‘In-camera’ is the opposite to the routine trial in an open court where parties and witnesses testify in the court in presence of their lawyers.
Defence counsel of all the seven accused concluded their arguments on Wednesday. From the prosecution’s side, special public prosecutor Santokh Singh Basra and JK Chopra had finished their arguments a few days ago. The judge is likely to pronounce his order on Thursday.
Meanwhile, tight security remained in place near the court, where senior superintendent of police (SSP) Pathankot Vivek Sheel Soni is personally monitoring the area on daily basis.
The accused, who are brought daily from Kathua to Pathankot, are being guarded by the Punjab Police after they enter the Punjab border at Madhopur.
“We are always in touch with our J&K counterparts and various agencies to keep security arrangements intact,” the SSP said.