Kathua case: Trial against juvenile from Monday as HC denies early hearing on his minor status

The trail against a juvenile accused in the horrific rape-and-murder case of an eight-year-old nomadic girl at Kathua last year will begin on Monday as the Jammu and Kashmir High Court refused to entertain a plea for an early hearing of a petition challenging his status as a minor, officials said.

The trial will now begin before the Juvenile Justice Board at Kathuua in the Jammu region.

The Juvenile Justice Board had initiated the trial on July 15, but the crime branch said it was not ready to proceed as the status of the accused as a minor was yet to be decided.

The crime branch said that the police had approached the High Court challenging an order of the chief judicial magistrate last year in which the accused had been declared as a juvenile.

Hearing the petition, Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur said, "No case for preponement is made out. Let the matter be considered on its due date."