New Delhi, July 24 - The Supreme Court Friday directed the two police officers, arrested for allegedly destroying evidence in the Shopian rape and murder case, to approach the district sessions court for their bail, and suspended a Jammu and Kashmir High Court order that they should seek bail only from it.

A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice P. Sathasivam asked Shopian Superintendent of Police Javed Iqbal Mattoo and Deputy Superintendent of Police Rohit Bagkotra to approach the sessions court for bail Monday.

Partly setting aside the state high court's order, the apex court bench severely ticked it off for overstepping its jurisdiction and passing an 'illegal order'.

'Why should the high court say that they should move this (high) court only for bail?' Chief Justice Balakrishnan asked the state government's counsel as they sought to oppose the police officers' lawsuit seeking bail from the apex court.

During the arguments, senior counsel and former attorney general Harish Salve, appearing for the Jammu and Kashmir government, conceded that the high court had passed an order which was partly illegal and beyond its jurisdiction.

The bench asked the police officers to seek their bail plea from the sessions court despite a fervent plea by their counsel Mukul Rohtagi, who said he was afraid that neither the sessions court nor the high court would give them the bail and he would eventually have to come to the apex court ten days later.

The apex court bench, accordingly, directed the sessions court to 'consider the bail plea of the police officers on merit, without getting influenced by the high court's observation or the order.'

As Rohtagi expressed apprehension to the safety of advocates representing the two police officers in the surcharged atmosphere of Shopian town, the bench asked the local police to provide adequate security to counsel of the two police officers.