Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind welcomes Supreme Court’s decision, stating that what was previously the responsibility of the government is now being handled by the courts: Maulana Arshad Madani

AMN / New Delhi

Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Uttarakhand government in case of the murder of a Muslim nurse from Rudrapur . The case was heard before a three-member bench led by the Chief Justice of India. 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. Nitya 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 passing, leaving the child in a state of shock.

Advocate Nitya 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 Nitya 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 D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Mishra decided to accept the case for hearing and issued a notice to the Uttarakhand government.

With the assistance of President of Jamiat Ulama-i-HindMaulana Arshad Madani, the deceased’s daughter and sister filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India, requesting a CBI inquiry into the murder case and compensation for the victims. The hearing on this petition took place today.

During the proceedings, Senior Advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan was assisted by Advocate Sarim Naved, Advocate Shahid Nadeem, Advocate Astuti Ray, Advocate Mujahid Ahmed, and others. The court has been requested to direct the state government to order an independent investigation into FIR No. 406/2024 of the Rudrapur police station by the central investigative agency, and to grant compensation to the deceased’s young daughter.

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 remarked that the task of delivering justice, which was previously the responsibility of the government, is now being handled by the courts. He expressed regret that it had to come knocking on the court’s door to seek justice for Tasneem Jahan. However, as the incident that took place in Kolkata, this is also a very heartbreaking and horrific incident.

He lamented that while the earlier incident received significant national attention, leading to protests and strikes by doctors across the country and extensive media coverage, Tasneem Jahan’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, Insha’Allah