[BREAKING] Jharkhand High Court agrees with State decision to hand over probe into death of Judge Uttam Anand to CBI

The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday agreed with the decision of the State government to hand over the probe into the death of Judge Uttam Anand to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). .Anand, who was the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Dhanbad, was mowed down by a vehicle on the morning of July 28 when he was out on a morning walk. .While it was initially believed to be an accident, the CCTV footage that emerged later seemed to suggest that it was a deliberate act done with the intention of injuring or killing the judge..The Jharkhand High Court had initiated a suo motu case to look into the same and had directed the Director General of Police to issue appropriate order/direction for constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the matter. The Court had also directed that a status report be filed before it. Meanwhile, the State government decided to hand over the probe to CBI. When the Court was intimated of the same today, the Bench of Chief Justice Dr. Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan agreed to the proposal. .The State government was directed to provide logistical support and the concerned documents to the CBI.The Court also directed the Director General of Police (DGP) of Jharkhand to ensure security to the judicial officers in the state of Jharkhand. .In the light of the incident, the court also questioned the state authorities as to why there was a delay in filing the First Information Report, as the incident took place around 5:00 in the morning and FIR was lodged at around 1:00 PM..The judge who went for a morning walk and never returned: Who was Judge Uttam Anand?.Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of India had also registered a suo motu case on safeguarding courts and ensuring protection and security of judges in the wake of judge Anand's death.The top court also directed the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police of Jharkhand to submit a status report on investigation into death of judge Anand within a week. The matter will be heard on August 6.