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After many, many months of increasingly slow progress, witnesses are finally being ticked off in the trial of the man accused of murdering Sarah Groves.
Seven years into proceedings, it has been many months since any actual progress was made thanks to civil unrest in Kashmir leaving everything in limbo.
The hearing on the 15 February saw Vic Groves, Sarah's father, able to report some good news for the first time in a long time. The cross examination of a witness was competed, and the Judge made it clear to Police that "stringent efforts" must be made to ensure another witness appeared on the next date.
That date, February 27, was last week - and the Judge's words paid off, Mr Groves said.
Pictured: At least 10 scheduled hearings were lost thanks to the civil unrest. Mr Groves said the trial would be nearing its end if things had gone more smoothly.
"At this hearing, two Prosecution Witnesses gave evidence. Both were quickly examined by the Prosecution and cross-examined by Richard de Wit’s Defence Counsel. Unfortunately they were not important or significant witnesses and nothing of note was established that will help to prove the guilt or innocence of the accused," he said.
"This was a good day in court because it showed that the political and legal situation in Kashmir is beginning to return to normal. However, there are still limited forms of communication due to the internet being restricted to 2G speeds which is incapable of supporting applications such as WhatsApp and a complete ban on SMS texting."
The trial resumed the next day on the 28, where a further witness gave evidence while Richard de Witt - the accused - connected to Court via video link.
"The witness at the time of the tragedy back in April 2013 was an Assistant Scientific Officer in the Serology Section of the Forensic Science Laboratory in Srinagar. Again, transcripts have not yet been received but according to our legal representative in court, no significant evidence was presented to the court," Mr Groves continued.
Pictured: Sarah Groves, who died in April 2013.
"There are now only seven more witnesses for the Prosecution listed to give evidence. The whereabouts of at least two remain in doubt but summonses have been re-issued in an effort to bring them to court for the next scheduled hearing.
"For a safe verdict to be reached it is essential that these witnesses are found and give their evidence. Of greater importance, the verdict will only be a safe one when the boatowner, Mr Rahim Shoda and all members of his family are recalled and subjected to proper cross-examination. There are three reasons for this:
"Efforts are being made on a number of fronts to effect the recall of these important witnesses, which include Sarah’s ‘boyfriend’ at the time Syed / Sameer Shoda."
Pictured top: Right, Sarah's parents, Kate and Vic, and right, the man accused of murdering Sarah, Richard de Witt, attending Court last week.
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