The Supreme Court on Friday took suo motu cognisance of the alleged murder of Jharkhand judge Uttam Anand while on a morning walk in Dhanbad and said the case “concerns the larger issue of safety and security of judicial officers in the country”.

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, heading a bench that also had Justice V. Surya Kant, directed the Jharkhand chief secretary and director-general of police to submit their reports on the incident within a week, but clarified that Jharkhand High Court, which has already initiated action on Thursday, would continue to monitor the case.

The top court noted that it had come across several instances of attacks on judicial officers and lawyers inside and outside court premises in different parts of the country. The CJI, while listing the matter for further hearing next week, said the court might issue notices to all states and Union Territories for framing appropriate guidelines for the safety of judicial officers.

Additional district judge Anand, who had denied bail to two alleged gangsters last week, was jogging around 5am on a two-lane road near Dhanbad city’s Magistrate Colony when an auto-rickshaw hit him from behind. He died in hospital.

Initially it was thought to be a hit-and-run incident but Anand’s family lodged an FIR for murder after the police showed them the CCTV footage. A video clip on social media, which officials have confirmed as leaked CCTV footage, shows a man jogging by the roadside when an auto swerves sharply from the middle of the lane, knocks him down and speeds away.

The Supreme Court said it was deeply concerned over the rising instances of assault on judicial officers and advocates. The independence of the judiciary can be maintained only when judges and lawyers function fearlessly, CJI Ramana said.

“An unfortunate incident happened on Wednesday where an ADJ was hit by an autorickshaw. This gruesome incident was rightly reported in newspapers and on social media, the same was taken into cognisance by the chief justice of (Jharkhand) HC,” Justice Ramana said.

“Taking into consideration similar incidents all over the places for judges and some places against lawyers as well”, CJI Ramana said “the matter involves the larger issue of safety and security of judicial officers in the country”.

“So we have decided to take up the matter suo motu and issue directions. We are aware that Jharkhand High Court has already taken suo motu cognisance of the incident,” Justice Ramana added.

On Thursday the Supreme Court Bar Association led by its president Vikas Singh had urged the top court to direct a CBI probe into Judge Anand’s alleged murder, saying it was a “dangerous situation for the judiciary” if judges got killed for rejecting gangsters’ bail pleas.A special investigation team (SIT) constituted under the directive of Jharkhand High Court and led by additional DGP (operations) Sanjay Anand Lathkar on Friday begun its probe into the judge’s death.

The SIT team was at the Dhanbad senior superintendent of police’s office till late in the evening and is learnt to have sought mobile call details of the two youths — Lakhan Kumar Verma, 24, and Rahul Verma, 20 — arrested with the stolen auto.

“We have been asked to provide call detail records of both the accused dating back to at least 10 days (prior to Judge Anand’s death) and identify all those persons with whom they had spoken and interrogate them separately. We have also been asked to interrogate the liquor shop owner where Lakhan, who was driving the auto, has confessed to have had drinks on Tuesday night. We have been told that the SIT team and forensic experts will visit the site of the incident soon,” said a DSP-rank officer.

Police officers said Lathkar and other members of the SIT had studied CCTV footage from all connected roads near the site of the incident.

The police are trying to trace the registered owner of the auto, Ramdev Lohar, who is missing since Thursday.

Over 30,000 lawyers affiliated to the Dhanbad Bar Association abstained from works on Friday and took out a march protesting against the murder of lawyer Manoj Kumar Jha near Tamar in Ranchi on July 26 and the “killing” of judge Anand.