The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has taken the significant step of transferring the investigation into the death of a minor girl, found hanging in Jammu last year, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court delivered a sharp rebuke to the local police, stating they had made no "serious-minded effort" to uncover the truth behind the tragic incident.
A Father's Plea and a Court's Scrutiny
The court's decisive order on December 18, 2025, came after the aggrieved father of the victim approached the judiciary. He sought a transfer of the investigation, expressing his grave suspicion that his daughter had been raped and murdered. The girl's body was discovered hanging from a tree near her residence on August 15, 2024.
Justice Rahul Bharti, presiding over the case, expressed deep concern over the "perfunctory" manner in which the Jammu police handled the probe. The court noted that no senior officer had taken charge of a case that demanded immediate and serious attention from the outset, especially given the Supreme Court's repeated emphasis on women's safety.
Judicial Criticism and the Risk of Lost Evidence
Examining two status reports filed by the police, Justice Bharti stated that a cumulative reading left the court "unimpressed". The judge highlighted a critical failure in investigative rigor. The court observed that with the passage of time, the case was "losing its crucial evidence", which could lead to nothing but an "adulterated version" of the truth. This, the court feared, would leave it as a mere spectator, forced to close the petition as a matter of ritual without delivering justice.
The court also wondered how the petitioner would have ever learned about the true state of the investigation without judicial intervention, underscoring a lack of transparency.
CBI Directed to Take Over and Report
Convinced that the case required a higher level of investigation, Justice Bharti ordered the Jammu police to hand over the entire inquiry file to the CBI. The court issued specific directives for the translation of documents from Urdu into Hindi or English to facilitate the new probe. All records must be submitted to the CBI by January 18, 2026.
Furthermore, the High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to apprise the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Jammu of the investigation's status within three months. This move ensures continued judicial oversight of the high-profile case.
In its concluding remarks, the court firmly stated, "In the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court is fully convinced that it is a case which requires an investigation to be done by none else than the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Jammu." This transfer marks a pivotal moment in the quest for justice for the minor girl and her family.
