Supreme Court dissatisfied with CBI probe into death of Jharkhand district judge

The Supreme Court on Monday expressed its dissatisfaction with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the recent death of a Jharkhand district judge in an alleged hit-and-run case and demanded to know the motive behind the killing and not who was arrested and why.

The CBI, through solicitor general Tushar Mehta, said it had just taken over the probe and was working on it. Mehta, however, refused to furnish any further details for now.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana, who has instituted a suo motu petition to ensure the safety and security of judges in the wake of the Dhanbad incident, was very dismissive of the CBI status report into the death of the judge.


Additional district judge Uttam Anand was run over by an auto-rickshaw when he was out for his morning walk. Jharkhand Police have arrested the driver and helper of the vehicle, and have since handed over the case to the CBI for a further probe into the larger conspiracy behind the killing.

The CBI said in court on Monday that the duo was being interrogated. The CJI had earlier sharply criticised the state for failing to protect the judge in an area where the coal mafia’s writ runs large. “You seem to be washing your hands off,” the court had earlier told the state when the probe was transferred to the CBI.

The bench, led by the CJI, later asked the country’s top investigative agency to report the progress in probe into the case to the high court chief justice who is monitoring it.

The CJI indicated that the top court could now only address the larger issue of ensuring the security of judges who are dealing with high-profile cases or criminal cases and hence face a high degree of threats from vested interests.