Hubballi encounter: HC directs Karnataka government to follow 2014 Supreme Court guidelines

Representing the PUCL, senior advocate Aditya Sondhi highlighted the necessity of registering an FIR after the incident and said the body of the accused would have to be subjected to a videographed postmortem. “There is an apprehension of a cremation taking place…at this stage, I am requesting that the body be preserved so that the requirements can be met…,” Sondhi said.

Advocate-General Shashikiran Shetty, representing the state, noted that an FIR had been registered and he handed over a copy of it to the court. He said the question of cremation would not arise, the guidelines were being strictly followed, and that at most a burial could be permitted. He further said the postmortem was not done because the body was yet to be identified by relatives.

Having heard both sides, a bench of Chief Justice N V Anjaria and Justice K V Aravind ordered, “The respondents (state) shall scrupulously adhere to the guidelines and directions of the Apex Court in People’s Union of Civil Liberties v State of Maharashtra. It is further provided that the body of the accused will be subjected to postmortem by two doctors from the local hospital….videography shall be undertaken. The authorities shall preserve the samples collected during the post-mortem to be made available for investigation.”

The matter is set to be heard further on April 24.