Jharkhand High Court has ordered the closure of the Dhanbad Judge Uttam Anand murder case. 

The court observed that the investigation by the CBI has put forth details indicating there was no “ conspiracy” to kill him. 

The court was monitoring his murder case after ordering a probe by the CBI. This was in response to a PIL. 

Now, since the court has ordered closure of the case, justice was delivered as the two accused Lakhan Verma and Rahul Verma were convicted by a Sessions Court in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad in 2022 for murdering Additional Sessions Judge Uttam Anand. 

They were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment till death. A fine of Rs 30,000 has also been imposed on both convicts. 

The sentencing came a year after Judge Anand was hit by an auto-rickshaw during his morning walk on July 28,2021, and succumbed to head injuries later. During the trial, the prosecution had said that the motive of the crime was to snatch the victim’s mobile phone and that it was a premeditated act that warranted a conviction under IPC Section 302. 

The defence, on the other hand, had pleaded that it was not an “intentional hit” and that it attracted only the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. 

After the verdict, Defence Counsel Kumar Bimlendu told The Indian Express: “The judge pronounced both the accused guilty of murder. The court took into account the statement of only eye-witness Sharavan Kumar had deposed that the auto knowingly steered towards the judge and hit him leading to his death. 

The court also relied upon the CFSL report which had stated that both the accused were not under intoxication during the act.”

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