SRINAGAR: A Division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to record afresh the statement of the alleged kingpin in the sex scandal, Sabeena and the 16 year-old victim, in the presence of a judicial officer and also to file the report in two days.

Hearing a PIL on the case for the second consecutive day, the Bench, comprising Justices Hakim Imtiaz Hussain and Bashir Ahmed Kirmani, expressed dissatisfaction at the manner in which the CBI was investigating the case. Earlier, the CBI had submitted a status report on the investigation. When the proceedings begun, the judges said the victim's statement was in Hindi and they were not well versed with the language. When the court was adjourned for 45 minutes, CBI official S. L. Gupta explained the victim's statement to the Bench. Justice Imitiaz Hussain said the victim had made some substantive disclosures.

The Bench grilled the CBI on the discrepancy in recording the statements of the alleged kingpin and the victim. CBI counsel Shabir A. Naik argued that as Sabeena was in judicial custody, she had to be interrogated based on her statement to the police.

The court later ordered that the statements be recorded afresh in the presence of Principal District and Sessions Judge Anantnag Moulvi Javed.

When Mr. Naik observed that the CBI had its own way of functioning and was an independent agency, Justice Kirmani said: "Independence does not mean sovereignty." However, the Bench agreed that the statements be recorded under Section 161, which gives the CBI a chance to further corroborate evidence. The court ordered that Sabeena's statement be recorded in the Central Jail, where she is currently lodged.

The Kashmir Bar Association, which filed the PIL, was represented by Mian Abdul Qayoom. He insisted that the names of the accused in the case be disclosed. "They hold important positions and are ministers, police officers and top bureaucrats. If they continue to hold these positions, they can influence the investigating agency," he argued.

The court fixed the next hearing of the case for Friday.

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