On Thursday, the Allahabad High Court took suo motu cognizance of a Dalit woman’s mortal assault and alleged gangrape in Hathras, especially her hurried cremation. It has asked the state government’s senior officials and police, including those in the district, to be present at the next hearing on October 12.

A two-judge Bench stated that the deceased’s family must be present that day so that the court could hear their version of the cremation organised by the police in the middle of the night, and wondered whether the economic status of the family drove the authority to act as it did on the night of the cremation. It must be noted that the victim after losing her life in Safdarjung hospital was cremated in a hurry by the police against the ritual of the family which forbids any cremation in the night.  The Bench also added that it would decide on the necessity of monitoring the investigation or getting it conducted through an independent agency as per law.

On Thursday, the Bench comprised of Justices Rajan Roy and Jaspreet Singh, in an interview said that while the four accused had been arrested, an SIT has been set up to probe the matter. However, for the moment, the judges added that they are concerned with what has happened thereafter in the incidents which took place after the death of the victim on September 29 leading up to her cremation. The judges further stated that the hurried late night cremation as it has been alleged, has shocked their conscience, and therefore, they are taking suo moto cognizance of the same.

The court stated that the matter is of “enormous public importance and public interest” as there are allegations of “high-handedness” by the state authorities resulting in violation of the basic human and fundamental rights not only of the deceased victim but also of her family members.

The judges added that after the deceased victim was treated with extreme brutality by the perpetrators of the crime, the alleged way of carrying out the cremation, if true, amounts to perpetuating the misery of the family and rubbing salt into their wounds.

The court also stated that it would like to examine “whether the economic and social status of the deceased’s family has been taken advantage of by the state authorities to oppress and deprive them of their Constitutional rights. It must be noted that some observers had stated that the cremation by the police amounted to violation of rights under article 19, 21 and 25 of Indian constitution.

As per the reports, the Lucknow Bench of the High Court that took up the matter has added that in this regard they have taken note of a news reported in Indian Express, Lucknow edition dated 01.10.2020, with the headline ‘U.P. Police out in full force to cremate Hathras women, away from family’. As per the said report, ‘From the moment the body of the deceased victim left Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital at 9:30 pm on Tuesday to a hurried cremation in a Hathras village 200 kilometres away at 3:30 am on Wednesday, it was marked by a disregard to protocol and high handedness by a police force that did not let her family perform her last rites’.

The court specified that according to the report quoted by the victim’s father, the victim’s body was released from the hospital without the family being informed. He had also denied the police version that the family had said that the timing of the cremation would not matter.

Officials have been instructed by the Bench to ensure that the family members of the victim are not pressurised.

The court cited that as per the reports, the cremation got completed “around 2-2.30 am”. The reports stated that the deceased’s family follows Valmiki traditions, which disallows last rites in the way it was carried out after day break.

The judges went on to cite Mahatma Gandhi, stating that this is a time to strengthen our resolve to live up to the ideas which ‘Bapu’ stood for, but, unfortunately, ground realities are very different from the high values propagated and practised by the Father of the Nation.

The court ordered that an appropriate Bench would hear the suo motu PIL and also instructed to keep of all news items referred by it. It also requested that the concerned media organisations to produce the relevant materials and content on the basis of which they had reported the matter.

The officials summoned by the Allahabad High Court Bench include the Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary (Home), the DGP, Additional Director General (Law and Order), Additional Director General (Law and Order), the Hathras District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police. The court has asked the officials to present their version of the events with supporting material, and an update on the probe’s status. The Bench also sought a report from the District Judge at Hathras.

Recently as per local reports, it has been found that the police have restrained the family of the victim in their home. The police has also snatched away their cellphones. This was stated by a young boy who ran through crops to tell this to the local media sources as found out on SM postings. This shows that despite setting up of an SIT team and announcement of harsh punishment for the perpetrators by the CM, the action by the local police is showinging something else. In a shocking parallel development, an organization of higher-caste movement named Rashtriya Savarna Parishad has reared its head in the follow-up to the rape, death and forced cremation of the dalit girl. This organization has come out after 8 long years to put forth its agenda. The leader of this organization Pankaj Dhavaraiya has blamed the Samajwadi party for framing the four higher-caste boys and has threatened to take out Tiranga Rally in protest. It seems that even perpetrators of grave crimes like gangrapes get support base in UP if they hail from certain privileged castes.