Bitta Karate Case Hearing Adjourned as Victim Satish Tickoo's Lawyer Skips Due to 'Lack of Security'

A Srinagar court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of a case in which Bitta Karate is accused of murdering a Kashmiri Pandit after the counsel for the latter claimed that the Jammu and Kashmir Police did not provide him security.

The petition, which is at a very early stage, was to be heard on Tuesday but as Satish Tickoo’s counsel Utsav Bain was not present, the judge bypassed the case. A fresh date of hearing would be issued later, court officials told News 18.

Bains had moved an application seeking adjournment of hearing on Tuesday citing security issues. The next date fixed for hearing now is May 23.

Of the three hearing dates, Bains has appeared in the first hearing when the judge had asked the rival counsels to prepare formal documents to contest in the court.

The trial proceedings against Karate had begun 31 years after a similar plea was filed by the Pandit family of Satish Tickoo.

Advocate Bains had filed the application on behalf of the family in Srinagar’s district court for status reports of all the FIRs registered against Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate — who has already been bailed out by the Supreme Court of India.

While Bains claimed he left for Delhi from Srinagar Airport after he was not provided security, Kashmir’s IGP Vijay Kumar said he was told security was in place for him.

“I have enquired from SSP security. As per him, BP vehicle, PSO and escort waited at airport since 8am in the morning,” Kumar told News18.

However, communication from Bains claimed despite Supreme Court orders, no security was provided and he had to return to Delhi after landing at the Srinagar Airport at 9am.

“It is requested to your lordship to please adjourn today’s hearing in Criminal Revision No 138 of 2022 in the interest of justice,” read the letter.

The Supreme Court, on July 24, 2017, had dismissed a plea filed by the Kashmiri Pandit NGO ‘Roots in Kashmir’ saying it is difficult to hold any probe and collect evidence on incidents that are more than 27 years old after the migration of Kashmiri Pandits from Valley. A review petition filed in the court of then Chief Justice of India Dr DY Chandrachud dismissed a review petition on October 10 of the same year.

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