New Delhi: The Supreme Court is on Thursday expected to hear a suo motu case on 'Safeguarding Courts and Protecting Judges' in the wake of murder of Dhanbad court judge in July 2021. The plea was instituted suo motu by the SC after additional sessions judge Uttam Anand Uttam Chand, a judge at Dhanbad on July 28, 2021 in Dhanbad.
It can be recalled that the victim Uttam Anand, was killed after an autorickshaw ploughed into him while he was out on a morning walk. In the incident, the judge received grievous injuries and succumbed to his injuries at Shaheed Nirmal Mahto Medical College and hospital (SNMMCH). While initial probe suggested that it was a hit and run case, but the CCTV footage, which surfaced on the social media revealed that the accused auto driver had run into the judge deliberately.
Also read: Dhanbad judge death: Police arrest auto driver, matter raised in SC
The Jharkhand High Court had taken suo moto cognizance of the matter. A day after the judge's murder, the Dhanbad Police had arrested an auto driver along with another person in connection with the case. Significantly, the deceased judge was hearing the famous murder case of coal mafia kingpin Ranjay Singh, a close aide of Sanjeev Singh, former MLA of Jharia.
Ahead of his murder, Anand had reportedly rejected the bail plea of shooter Abhinav Singh and Ravi Thakur, the two accused in the case. It was speculated that the murder was a case of revenge killling. Deceased Anand was appointed as Dhanbad District and Sessions Judge six months ago. Before his appointment as the Dhanbad District and Sessions Judge, Anand was posted as District and Sessions Judge of Bokaro.
