New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected two separate petitions filed by accused persons in the Kathua gangrape and murder case for a fresh trial and transfer of investigation from the Jammu and Kashmirpolice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A Bench of Justices U.U. Lalit and D.Y. Chandrachud said the court cannot intervene at this juncture and order a “de novo trial” into the sexual assault and murder of an eight-year-old girl.

‘Motivated charge’

One of the accused said it is impossible to conceive of a situation where a 60-year-old father invites his teenaged son, who is preparing for his exams, to leave that and join in a crime. The accused said the prosecution version was clearly motivated and a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.

Justice Lalit firmly told the counsel for the accused that such issues of fact cannot be raised in the Supreme Court and factual arguments should be reserved for trial.

“Investigation must be fair, transparent and judicious as it is the minimum requirement of rule of law. The investigating agency cannot be permitted to conduct an investigation in a tainted and biased manner,” the petition said.

A case that jolted nation.

The main chargesheet lists as the prime conspirator the caretaker of the temple in Rasana where the child, who was a member of the Bakherwal nomadic community, was kept. She was missing since January 10. On January 17, her mutilated body was found, bearing the marks of gangrape. The crime had shocked the conscience of the nation owing to the brutality unleashed on the child by her attackers.