Court case(2020) 10 SCC 46

On 14 September 2020 a nineteen-year-old Dalit woman was attacked in a field in Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh; she named four upper-caste men and alleged gang rape in her statements. She died in a Delhi hospital on 29 September 2020 and was cremated by the police the same night without the family's presence. Public interest petitions under Article 32 asked for a CBI or SIT investigation monitored by the Supreme Court, protection of the family and witnesses, and transfer of the trial out of Uttar Pradesh. The State had already handed the case to the CBI.

The Court held that the CBI investigation should be monitored by the Allahabad High Court, which had already taken suo motu cognizance, and that the High Court could also look into the manner of the cremation. The CRPF, under the Central Government, was directed to provide security to the victim's family and the witnesses, and the family's choice of lawyer was recognised. The question of shifting the trial outside the State was left to be raised before the High Court after the investigation, and the petitions were disposed of with these directions.