Guernsey Press

‘Best hope yet’ for family of Sarah Groves

THE parents of Sarah Groves have met the Indian High Commissioner on his visit to Guernsey in what they described as their ‘best hope yet’, as they continue to fight for justice for their daughter.

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The parents of Sarah Groves, Vic, centre, and Kate, front right, meeting His Excellency Mr Y.K. Sinha, Indian High Commissioner, left, and his wife, Girija Sinha, front left. The two couples were introduced by Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq, right.

Sarah was 24 when she was killed on a houseboat in Kashmir in 2013, but the trial of the man accused of her murder has stalled with yesterday’s hearing again seeing no progress due to the non-attendance of witnesses.

The latest delay has led Vic and Kate Groves to question whether the Kashmiri system of justice actually cared about the brutal killing of their daughter.

However, Mr Groves said the meeting on Sunday with Indian High Commissioner HE Mr Y.K. Sinha was positive. They were introduced by Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq.

‘It was very, very helpful,’ he said.

‘Very constructive and very relaxed. It is our best chance yet of getting some hopeful movement in India.

‘He made no promises, he might not be able to do anything like others, but he knows us now as people.

‘It is our best hope yet.’

The trial of the accused, Richard de Wit, was adjourned immediately yesterday due to the lack of witnesses. Mr De Wit attended court.

At the last hearing the judge issued an order for the prosecutor to produce three witnesses at the hearing, a request that was ignored.

‘The non-appearance of witnesses is the most frustrating reason for this case to stall in the way it has,’ said Mr Groves.

‘In virtually all other jurisdictions in the world, witnesses who fail to turn up on the appointed date, at the appointed time, would be held in contempt of court and would face serious consequences. Within the Kashmiri system of justice, it seems, the issuing of a warrant counts for nothing. They are never enforced and witnesses go unpunished. Even bailable warrants, with a value of roughly £50, are ignored.’

Of the three witnesses summoned to appear yesterday, the one currently under cross-examination first attended court on 21 October 2017.

‘He was unable to take the stand until 25 November, mainly due to civil unrest,’ added Mr Groves.

‘Since then, there have been 17 scheduled hearings.

‘He was partially cross-examined at four of those hearings, although he consistently turned up late (on one occasion only 45 minutes before close of play). All other hearings have either been postponed through civil unrest or his non-appearance.

‘This reflects very badly on the Kashmiri system of justice and raises the unavoidable question – do they really care about the brutal murder of a young lady in the prime of her life?’

The judge told the prosecutor to once again issue a warrant for all three to appear at the next hearing.

‘The prosecutor, who is totally ineffective and should be replaced, responded by saying it was not his job to drag the witnesses to court in handcuffs. Most people would beg to differ.’

Two defence lawyers were present, the more senior of whom – Mushtaq Ahmed Dar – spoke at length about the delays in the proceedings, mentioning the inconvenience to the accused and to those from outside who attend the proceedings.

‘He asked for Section 344 to be invoked, and, although its purpose is not fully understood, it effectively calls into question the integrity of the current witness, SI Kuldeep Koul.

‘It was encouraging that Richard de Wit’s defence team were finally becoming impatient with the unnecessary and wholly unjustified delays. The judge refused this request at this hearing but asked for the matter to be raised at the next scheduled hearing.’

It was slightly more encouraging, Mr Groves said, that the next two hearings had been scheduled on consecutive days next week on Monday and Tuesday.