The Supreme Court today expressed strong displeasure over the Jammu & Kashmir Bar Association’s decision to not let its members defend any accused in the sex-scandal case.

“With this type of a resolution, how can proceedings go on in the court in Jammu & Kashmir? You can’t be a law unto yourself,” said a bench of Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice C K Thakker, hearing a petition from 13 accused who are seeking transfer of their case outside the state.

On the defensive, Bar Association president Mian Abdul Qayum denied any such intent. Asked why the Bar Association suspended a lawyer who was to defend an accused, Qayum said he was suspended only because he was trying to create a rift between lawyers from urban and rural areas.

Meanwhile, the court issued notice to the CBI, which is probing the case, and the state government on the plea for transfer of the case. They have three days to reply. The petitioners had contended that it was not possible to get proper trial in Jammu & Kashmir as no lawyer was willing to take up their case in the wake of the resolution.

The court also asked the Bar Association to file an affidavit on a CBI application challenging the J&K High Court’s order on day-to-day monitoring of the case. Not hiding its annoyance at the High Court’s order, the SC bench wondered what “this 24 hrs, 48 hrs monitoring” was. The bench said: “There are some rights in law. High Court is not an investigating agency.”

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