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Name judge to probe Hyderabad encounter: CJI to Telangana
The direction was issued as the Supreme Court began hearing a petition by lawyers G S Mani and Pradeep Kumar Yadav seeking an independent probe into the killings.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde on Wednesday asked the Telangana government to suggest the name of a retired Supreme Court judge who could take up the task of probing the killing of four men who allegedly raped and murdered a 26-year-old veterinary doctor on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
The direction was issued as the Supreme Court began hearing a petition by lawyers G S Mani and Pradeep Kumar Yadav seeking an independent probe into the killings. The two had suggested former Supreme Court judge P V Reddy’s name for the probe. Bobde said that Reddy was unavailable to take up the investigation.
The four, Mohammed Areef, Jollu Shiva, Jollu Naveen Kumar and Chintakunta Chenna Keshavulu, were shot dead by the police in an encounter on Friday, days after they were arrested for allegedly gang raping and murdering the veterinarian in Hyderabad on November 27.
The killings triggered a fierce debate and raised concerns about the violation of due process.
A petition over the killings is also pending before the Telangana high court, which has ordered the state police to preserve the bodies of the four men. The high court has asked the state’s top law officer to report if the state police had followed all Supreme Court guidelines related to such cases.
Bobde noted that the Telangana high court is hearing the issue and added the Supreme Court is still inclined to have a retired judge probe the killings. He added that the judge will operate out of Delhi and that the petition of the two lawyers will be heard next on Thursday.
Telangana police have insisted that the four were killed in an exchange of fire after they snatched weapons from the police when they were taken on December 6 to the crime scene where they allegedly burnt the rape victim. The four were killed as the police were trying to recreate the scene of the crime as part of their investigation, the police claimed.
A day after the killings, Bobde had underlined that justice should not become revenge. “I believe justice loses its character as justice if it becomes revenge,” he said at a function at the Rajasthan high court last week.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also sent a team to Telangana for an initial assessment and recorded statements of police officers involved in the killings. The team also spoke to officials who conducted the inquest after the killings.
The Telangana government announced on Sunday that a special team of police officers will investigate the killings.
