New Delhi, July 20 -- The Supreme Court has stayed further proceedings before the Allahabad High Court in a long-pending public interest litigation (PIL) relating to the alleged custodial death of a physically disabled man in Mainpuri in 2009, agreeing to examine a high court order that directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to recover missing video evidence while making sweeping observations against multiple institutions, including the high court itself and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice on appeals filed by the Uttar Pradesh government and Ajay Kumar Mishra, the then senior superintendent of police (SSP), Mainpuri, who is presently posted as inspector general of police, Prayagraj Range. The court ordered that "further proceedings in the related public interest litigation shall remain stayed" pending its consideration of the matter. Appearing for the state during a hearing earlier this week, senior advocate and senior additional advocate general Sharan Dev Singh Thakur submitted that the high court, while directing a CBI intervention, had passed severe remarks not only against the state police but also against the Allahabad High Court and NHRC, warranting scrutiny by the apex court. He urged the bench to examine both the factual matrix and the legality of the May 18 order. Accepting the submission, the top court agreed to hear the matter in detail and suspended proceedings before the high court. The litigation arises out of a PIL filed in 2010 by the Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives seeking an independent probe into the death of a 40% physically disabled man who died inside the lock-up of Dannahar police station in Mainpuri on May 9, 2009. htc...