The Supreme Court on Friday decided to examine a larger issue of safety and security of judges in district courts across the country following an incident of alleged mowing down of an Additional District Judge in Jharkhand's Dhanbad on July 28.
The court took suo motu cognisance of the alleged killing of Additional District Judge, Dhanbad Uttam Anand and sought a report from Jharkhand Chief Secretary and DGP within a week.
"We have come across several instances of attack on judicial officers and lawyers inside and outside the court premises and want to address the larger issue of safety and security of judicial officers in the country," a bench presided over by Chief Justice N V Ramana said.
The court registered the suo motu case as "Safeguarding Courts and Protecting Judges (death of Additional Sessions Judge, Dhanbad)" on Friday.
The bench, also comprising Justice Surya Kant, said, "It is the duty of the states to protect the judicial officers and lawyers to make them function independently and fearlessly while endeavouring to dispense justice."
The court said it would consider seeking a response from all states in the matter on the next date of hearing.
The court asked the Jharkhand government to apprise it of the status of the investigation. It also said the Jharkhand High Court would continue to monitor the investigation in the case.
SC Bar Association president and senior advocate Vikas Singh on Thursday asked the top court to take suo motu cognisance of the incident.
"If someone is killed like this after rejecting a gangster's bail, it is a dangerous situation for the judiciary," he said.
ADJ Anand was hit by an auto-rickshaw on his morning walk on Wednesday. He was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to the injuries. CCTV footage showed that he was deliberately hit by the auto-rickshaw which was stolen the previous night. The wife of the deceased judge has reportedly lodged a murder case against unknown people. The judge was said to be handling cases related to gangsters.