JAMMU, Nov. 9 -- In a significant judicial intervention, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has ordered reopening of a nearly two-decade-old attempt-to-murder case, expressing serious concern over the failure of the prosecution, investigating agency and trial court to ensure examination of crucial witnesses during a trial that continued for seven-and-a-half years.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Yash Paul Bourney, while exercising inherent jurisdiction under Section 561-A of the erstwhile J&K Code of Criminal Procedure, directed that the case be remanded for trial in accordance with law, preferably to be concluded within six months of receipt of the order.
The matter arose from an alleged murderous ...