SC proposes to appoint former apex court judge to probe Hyderabad encounter

Hyderabad encounter case: The top court said that it is aware that Telangana High Court is already seized of the matter but will appoint a former Supreme Court judge to probe matter who will sit in Delhi and inquire into the incident.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday proposed to appoint a former top court judge to inquire into the hearing of a plea on the Hyderabad encounter case, where four men, accused in the rape and murder of a city veterinarian, were killed. 

Chief Justice SA Bobde said the court had initially asked former Supreme Court judge PV Reddi but he had declined to be involved in this inquiry. The apex court emphasised on an independent inquiry into the matter.

SC said that it is aware that Telangana High Court is already seized of the matter but will appoint a former Supreme Court judge to probe matter who will sit in Delhi and inquire into the incident.

The next hearing has now been proposed for Thursday. 

Petitions were filed by two lawyers on Saturday seeking registration of FIR against cops and an independent probe into the matter. 

Petitioner GS Mani had filed the plea in the top court earlier this week, asking an urgent hearing on the legality of the encounter. He also sought the filing of an FIR against the cops present during the encounter, saying that the SC guidelines, issued in 2014, were not followed. 

Another petition was filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, wherein he sought the formation of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident.

On December 6, the accused were taken to the crime spot for re-construction of events as part of the investigation. During the process, the police said that they tried to escape from the spot and also attacked the cops by trying to snatch their weapons. Thus, the cops, in self-defence, they opened fire on the accused.     

While a section of the people heaped praises on the police, others, including some politicians, questioned the action taken by the police. 

A fact-finding team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also arrived in Telangana on Saturday to launch a probe into the killing of the accused. 

The NHRC on Friday took cognizance of the incident and ordered an inquiry. The human rights body said that the encounter was a matter of concern and needed to be probed carefully. It asked Director General (Investigation) to immediately send a team for a fact-finding and on-the-spot investigation. The team of the Investigation Division of the Commission is headed by a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP).

The human rights body also felt that the police personnel were not properly alert and prepared for any untoward activity by the accused on the spot, which resulted in the death of the accused.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was also formed by the Telangana government to probe the case.

(With agencies inputs)