Nainital, Jun 29 The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday questioned the jurisdiction of a case from the days of the Uttarakhand statehood movement, noting that the state was then part of Uttar Pradesh.
It directed a petitioner to file a written submission explaining the legal basis of arguments, asking to clarify whether the case predating bifurcation of Uttar Pradesh falls under the jurisdiction of the Uttarakhand High Court or the Allahabad High Court.
The matter pertains to the 1994 Rampur Tiraha firing incident.
Justice Alok Mahra scheduled the next hearing for July 29.
The petition, filed by Raman Sah, president of the Uttarakhand Andolankari Advocate Forum, challenges an order of the district and special CBI judge in Dehradun. The trial court had ordered the transfer of the Muzaffarnagar (Rampur Tiraha) case from Dehradun to a court in Muzaffarnagar.
The petition alleges that hundreds of activists travelling to Delhi during the Uttarakhand statehood movement were subjected to brutal treatment by the police at Rampur Tiraha in Muzaffarnagar on October 2, 1994.
Following an investigation, the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a chargesheet in the Dehradun court under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code, which relates to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The trial court, however, took cognisance of the matter under Section 302 of the IPC, which pertains to murder.
The petitioner further stated that he had earlier approached the Supreme Court for relief. The apex court granted him the liberty to approach the High Court, leading to the current petition.
