Jisha murder: HC rejects pleas to hand over case to CBI

Kerala High Court has once again rejected the demand for a CBI probe into the controversial rape and murder of a Jisha, a Dalit girl at Perumbavoor in April. 

Considering petitions seeking CBI probe into the Jisha murder case, a High Court bench comprising of Acting Chief Justice Thottathil Radhakrishnan and Anil Sivaraman observed that the situation does not demand the intervention of a new agency at this point. A probe is on under the supervision of a senior IPS officer. There is no need to intervene at this stage, it stated. 

The court also rejected the demand for making public the postmortem report of the victim. The privacy of the victim should be guarded even if she is no more. The court also expressed reservations on the media coverage that continuously refer the victim's name. It is not fair to use her name in public protests as well, the court observed. 

The High Court bench also clarified that the government may consider action against police officers if they were found to have committed lapses in the investigation. But the court will not intervene or advise the probe team, it clarified. 

It may be recalled that the High Court had rejected a Public Interest Litigation seeking the court intervention to leave the case to the CBI at an early stage of the probe.

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