India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI–In the case of the murder of a Muslim nurse from Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the state government today.
The case was heard before a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud.
The case was filed by deceased’s daughter Zia Malik through her grandfather and her sister Sahiba Jahan, with the assistance of President of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Maulana (Arshad Madani), requesting a CBI inquiry into the murder case and compensation for the victims.
A request has also been made to the court to establish national-level guidelines for the protection of medical staff. The petition includes the Union of India, the Ministry of Child and Women Development, and the State of Uttarakhand as respondents.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan informed the court that the police investigation so far has been unsatisfactory. From the beginning, the police’s conduct has been unprofessional.
Despite the report of the deceased’s disappearance being filed, the police took no action for a week, and only after public protests did they start taking action, eventually arresting a suspect.
Ramakrishnan told the court that the deceased’s eleven-year-old innocent daughter continued to cry and wait for her mother, but she did not see her mother alive again. Instead, a week later, she was informed of her mother’s death, leaving the child in a state of shock.
Advocate Ramakrishnan further informed the court that the Supreme Court had issued guidelines regarding missing persons in 2022, which the local police had not followed.
She also mentioned that similar incidents are occurring throughout the region, and the police action is merely procedural and inadequate. She urged the court to intervene in this matter.
After hearing Advocate Ramakrishnan’s arguments, the Chief Justice of India initially suggested that the case be referred to the Uttarakhand High Court. However, following further arguments by Nitya Ramakrishnan, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Mishra decided to accept the case for hearing and issued a notice to the Uttarakhand government.
During the proceedings, senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan was assisted by Advocate Sarim Naved, Advocate Shahid Nadeem, Advocate Astuti Ray, Advocate Mujahid Ahmed, and others.
A request has also been made to the court to establish national-level guidelines for the protection of medical staff. The petition was filed in the Supreme Court by the deceased’s young daughter, Zia Malik (through her grandfather), and her sister, Sahiba Jahan. The petition includes the Union of India, the Ministry of Child and Women Development, and the State of Uttarakhand as respondents.
President of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Maulana Arshad Madani welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to issue a notice to the Uttarakhand government in the Tasneem Jahan case.
He lamented that while the Kolkata medico incident received significant national attention, leading to protests and strikes by doctors across the country and extensive media coverage, Uttarakhand nurse’s case has seen a complete lack of attention and outcry.
Maulana Madani questioned whether justice in the country is now only available based on religious grounds. He noted that if there had been transparency and proper action according to the law in this case, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind might not have needed to approach the Supreme Court.
He expressed happiness that the Supreme Court recognized the seriousness of the case, conducted a hearing, and issued a notice to the Uttarakhand government. He also expressed hope that like many other cases, justice will be served in this case too.
