Mirchpur violence: Apex court hints at transferring case

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Tuesday indicated that the trial in the Mirchpur case, in which people belonging to the dominant caste are accused of attacking the Dalits of the village, could be transferred outside Haryana.

An apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly asked the Additional Advocate General of Haryana Manjit Singh Dalal to indicate if there was a designated court in the union territory of Chandigarh to try cases of atrocities against the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SCs/STs).

Similarly, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioner and the Mirchpur victims, was asked to find out of if there was a designated court in Delhi trying offences under the Prevention of Atrocities against SC/ST Act.

On April 21, people from the dominant caste in Mirchpur village attacked and burnt houses of those belonging to the Valmiki community. A 70-year-old man, Tara Chand, and his disabled daughter Suman were burnt alive.

This led to the exodus of the Valmikis from the village to different parts of the state and the national capital.

On the Supreme Court’s intervention, the state police acted against the perpetrators of the violence and 52 people were arrested.

The apex court Tuesday gave an indication of transferring the trial outside the state after receiving the report from the Additional Sessions Judge (Hissar) on allegations that witnesses were being coerced to turn hostile and that even lawyers appearing for the victims were feeling insecure.

The Hissar judge, in his report, said that he was satisfied that witnesses had deposed without being under any duress and pressure. However, the report said that lawyers representing the victims looked “frightened and terrorized”.

The apex court had asked the Hissar judge to give a report after Gonsalves, during the last hearing Nov 23, alleged that on the date of hearing, a large crowd of people from the dominant community gathered outside the courtroom and they coerced and threaten the witnesses to go back on their statements.

Senior counsel P.N. Mishra, appearing for the state, said that transferring the trial outside Haryana would caste aspersions on the state government, which otherwise had done everything to address the grievances of the victims and provided them full security.

He also said that transferring the trial in Delhi would cause difficulties to the victims.

At this, court said that the pivotal thing was that the “trial must be in a free and fair manner and in conducive atmosphere for both the parties”. The court further observed that Delhi “may not be convenient but it is a safe place for the trial”.