Karnataka High Court allows burial of accused migrant labourer shot in Hubballi encounter

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties, which had originally moved the court, had also expressed concerns regarding the subject of the mandatory First Information Report (FIR) after the shooting. The matter was heard by a Division Bench consisting of Chief Justice N V Anjaria and Justice K V Aravind and is set to be heard again on Friday.

In the previous hearing, the PUCL had raised concerns regarding a possible cremation of the body before postmortem, with the state noting that only a burial could be permitted in such cases as the relevant guidelines would be followed.

The High Court also stated that the post-encounter guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in the People’s Union of Civil Liberties v State of Maharashtra case would have to be followed.

The Bench on Tuesday permitted the request from Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty to bury the body as post-mortem had been completed. The PUCL, represented by senior advocate Aditya Sondhi, expressed concern regarding the fact that the FIR was filed against the deceased accused regarding the shooting and not with regard to the investigation of the shooting itself.

Sondhi further stated, “The prayer before your lordships….is to have the enquiry committed either by a retired judge or by an independent investigating agency”. The AG responded that the matter had been referred to the CID and not the local police.

The High Court is set to pass a more detailed order in the matter after the copies of the FIR are examined by the Bench on Friday.