NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday while hearing the plea of Talib Hussain , key witness in Kathua rape and murder case, asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to file response on plea alleging custodial torture by August 27.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud fixed the matter for further hearing in August 29.

Hussain was a key witness in gang rape and murder case of a minor that took place in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir in January but was arrested after his sister-in-law alleged that he raped her.

Representing Hussain's cousin, Mumtaz Ahmed Khan's plea filed on August 7, senior advocate Indira Jaising , had submitted in the Supreme Court that Hussain had been brutally tortured in custody. Requesting judicial intervention, Jaising had asked the state government to file its response within a week.

The submission was accepted by the Supreme Court on August 8 but refused to grant any interim relief to Hussain with regard to alleged custodial torture and said that the factum of alleged harassment has to be ascertained.

Talib Hussain, a Gujjar activist, was arrested following a complaint lodged by his sister-in-law on August 1 alleging rape by Hussain a month-and-a half ago in Chadwa forest.

Hussain shot into prominence after being at the forefront of a campaign to seek justice for an eight-year-old girl who was abducted, raped and murdered in Kathua district in January this year. He is a key witness in the Kathua rape and murder case.

The state police's crime branch, which probed the case, filed the main charge sheet against seven people and a separate charge sheet against a juvenile.

The charge sheet has revealed chilling details about how the girl was allegedly kidnapped, drugged and raped inside a place of worship before being killed.

(With inputs from agencies)