Courting action

In just five hearings, the HC has worked inexorably to cut through the administrative red tape, tackled the hassles of the day to day investigation and almost got to the core of the scam.

The progress so far:

8226; Involvement of the VVIPS including the former ministers and in Court8217;s view 8220;may be even future ministers8221; is now confirmed beyond any shade of doubt. HC also revealed the involvement of a 8220;Gora Chita fair-complexioned Commissioner8221;, and a 8220;BSF officer8221;.

8226; Number of the persons 8212; including the high and mighty of the state 8212; named by Sabeena, the alleged kingpin of the racket, and the 15-year-old victim has gone up from 56 to 70.

8226; Seven persons already paraded, three among them identified by the minor victim as the culprits. One of the three was detained by the CBI.

May 2

The HC takes suo motu cognisance of the story on sex abuse scandal carried by The Indian Express on April 29. 8220;Pushing innocent minor girls into the flesh trade is an extremely treacherous act and if, constitutionally acknowledged, social and moral commitments mean anything, the traders of this treachery have to be brought to account,8221; Justice B A Kirmani said in the notice.

Subsequently Kashmir High Court Bar Association files a PIL on May 8. The court treats it as a writ petition and appoints a Single Bench headed by Justice Hakeem Imtiaz Hussain to conduct the proceedings. Bar protests.

May 12

The court agrees to treat the petition filed by the KHCBA as a PIL. The Single Bench refers the petition to Chief Justice who constitutes a Division Bench comprising Justice Hussain and Justice Kirmani to hear the case.

Pleading the case in a packed court room, the Bar president Mian Abdul Qayoom seeks the court8217;s intervention in the disclosure of the names of the politicians, senior police officers and top bureaucrats involved in the scandal.

MAY 15

The HC says it would monitor the CBI investigation into the case on a daily basis. The court also orders the recording of the statements of the victim, and Sabeena in CBI custody before a senior judicial magistrate under section 164 CrPC.

MAY 16

The Division Bench gives two more days to the CBI to produce the complete recorded statements of Sabeena and the victim.

Besides, the Court affirms that Sabeena and the victim, in their respective statements to the CBI, had made 8220;important disclosures8221; and reprimands the premier investigating agency for the lack of follow up action.

The court expresses displeasure over the protracted interrogation, stating this had given ample time to the accused to make up their mind. 8220;You have given Sabeena and others time to think over it the statements they are going to make,8221; the Division Bench observes and calls for CBI to act immediately.

MAY 19

In a decisive push to get at the accused, the HC directs the CBI to conduct the identification parade of the persons named by Sabeena and the victim. The parade, the court says, shall be conducted 8220;in camera8221; before a Magistrate.

If identified by the two, the court directs the CBI to take action 8220;in accordance with the law8221; and arrest the accused. 8220;No court will grant them bail, without first bringing the matter to the notice of the court,8221; the division bench observes.

The court discloses that Sabeena and the victim had named 56 people and 34 girls as part of the sex abuse ring in the Valley. The court also pulls up the Sub-Divisional Police Officer Javed Koul for not taking action against a 8220;Gora Chita fair Commissioner,8221; and a 8220;BSF officer8221; named by the victim in her interrogation to the police. HC also directs the DGP to provide protection to all the 34 girls named by Sabeena and the victim so that they remain available for the examination.

Besides, finding that many persons which figured in the latest sex racket were also part of similar past scandals, the court decides to issue show cause notice to the people released on bail in as many as 14 sex rackets which have surfaced in the state since 2002.

MAY 24

The high court directs the CBI to conduct identification parade of the VVIPS first. 8220;Start from the highest,8221; observes Justice B A Kirmani of the division bench. 8220;It is not a case of ordinary prostitution but something broader in dimension and deeper in implication. People involved are in the decision-making positions.8221; The court also takes serious exception to the CBI parading only ordinary people before the victim. 8220;They are not going to run away,8221; Justice Hakeem Imtiaz Hussain notes.

The court discloses that Sabeena and the victim have named more influential people raising their number from 56 to 70.

The HC directs the CBI not to rush to expand the investigations by roping in all the girls involved in the scandal: 8220;This will start a chain reaction as they will name more people and confuse the probe. So first complete the identification of the set of persons named by the minor victim and then proceed further.8221;

The court passes an order and directs the SSP, Srinagar, 8220;to keep four teams each comprising 3 to 4 police officers at the disposal of CBI to assist them in the process8221;. The court warns that 8220;any police officer failing to provide requisite assistance to CBI would be viewed as willfully acting to shield the culprits8221;.