JKHC adjourns hearing in sex racket case till Friday

Srinagar, July 12 (UNI) The Jammu and Kashmir High Court today adjourned the hearing in the sex racket case for Friday.

A division bench, comprising Justice Bashir Ahmed Kirmani and Justice Hakim Imtiyaz Hussain, which is monitoring the CBI investigations into the flesh trade scandal, also asked the Editor and the Publisher of ''Daily Tameeli Irshad'' to submit a written reply on the next date of hearing on July 14 for publishing an ''unconfirmed'' report in the newspaper on July 4.

Noted Supreme Court lawyer Shabnam Lone pleaded the case on behalf of the ''Daily Tameeli Irshad'' Editor and Publisher.

The Editor apologised before the court for publishing the report.

The CBI also submitted case diaries and the status report in the investigations into the sex scandal to the bench for its perusal.

During the last hearing on July 6, the bench had asked the media to abstain from publishing unconfirmed and unverified reports regarding the sex racket case even as it further granted one week to the CBI to collect evidence and concretiSe action against all the people accused of involvement in the scandal.

The court had taken strong notice of some unconfirmed reports published in the media which had resulted in undue harassment to the people concerned.

The CBI has so far arrested several top politicians, civil, police and paramilitary officials in connection with the case.

Among the arrested are former Jammu and Kashmir ministers and sitting legislators Ghulam Ahmed Mir and Raman Mattoo, Principal Secretary in the Planning and Development Department Mohammad Iqbal Khanday, sacked state Additional Advocate General Anil Sethi, BSF DIG K C Padhi, Jammu and Kashmir Police DSP Mohammad Ashraf Mir, J&K Police Counter-Insurgency Kashmir (CIK) wing DSP Mohammad Yousuf Mir and Naaz Hotel manager Riyaz Kawa.

UNI AG RA HS1955