The Supreme Court on Monday directed that virtual hearing facilities at the Jammu court be improved to ensure a smooth hearing for Yasin Malik in the 1989 case of killing four IAF personnel and the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case. Malik, the former chief of the banned terror outfit Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), is currently lodged in Tihar jail. “We direct the Registrar General of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to look into what is stated by the learned judge and take immediate steps for installing a proper system through which hearing can be conducted by using video medium or video conference,” a bench of Justices A S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan ordered. The court directed that “the system should be such that there can be effective cross-examination.” The apex court was hearing a plea by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging a Jammu trial court order directing the production of Malik to stand trial in the cases. The central agency has cited security reasons in its argument against taking him to Jammu. Hearing the CBI plea in November last year, the Supreme Court had wondered if a temporary courtroom could be set up in Tihar Jail to conduct the trial. On Monday, Justice Oka reiterated this and told the counsel appearing for the other accused that it can transfer the trial to Delhi and his clients will have to appear physically only for recording of evidence. The counsel expressed difficulty in travelling all the way to Delhi and said that Malik could virtually appear before the Jammu court instead. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the CBI, said Malik and the other accused were acting in tandem with the former refusing a lawyer and refusing to appear through video conferencing and insisting on going to Jammu while the rest of the accused were refusing to come to Delhi. The court then noted that the trial court judge had said in his order that the video conferencing facilities were not functioning properly. Mehta said the facilities can be improved. The court, in its order, also asked the Registrar in charge of the Delhi High Court’s IT wing to inspect if the video conferencing facilities in Tihar jail are functioning satisfactorily so that Malik can cross-examine the witnesses. The Supreme Court asked the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Registrar General to submit his report by February 17. The apex court will hear the matter again on February 21.
