Hyderabad rape-murder: SC orders inquiry by 3-member panel into encounter

The court said the commission must submit its report within six months from the date on which it begins the inquiry. “We are of the considered view that there should be an inquiry into facts. Let there be an impartial inquiry. There are aspects of your version that needs probing…We don’t want to assume facts…This is a question of credibility…We are not saying you are guilty. We are not saying you are wrong. At this stage we don’t know anything,” the CJI told Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for the Telangana government.

The bench, also comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna, was hearing a petition by lawyers G S Mani, Pradeep Kumar Yadav and M L Sharma seeking a probe into the encounter.

The court also directed that while the Commission is running its inquiry, no other court or authority shall conduct a parallel inquiry.

It also declined to entertain a petition to order Rs 50 lakh compensation for the deceased and said “we are not going to close our eyes to what these boys have done. Nothing has come on record so far as to show that any extraordinary treatment is necessary”.

During the hearing, Rohatgi said a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by a Commissioner of Police, had already been set up to investigate the encounter and that if another inquiry is ordered, it will be against the law, as there cannot be parallel inquiries.

Speaking of the encounter, Rohatgi said two of the men had snatched pistols from the police team and fired at them, which led the police team to retaliate. He added that an FIR had been filed in connection with the accused men firing at the police personnel. However, the submission did not go down well with the court which said, “the accused in that case are not living”, and added “we do not see how the possibility of such a trial can uncover the truth relating to the incidents…”.

Later, advocate Sharma told the court that the media should be barred from reporting on the process of the inquiry commission as it would affect the case.

To which Rohatgi said that even the court gets to know of several matters after they have been reported by the media. The CJI said the question was only on reporting facts which may affect the trial.

Rohatgi said the court should first hear the news organisations before taking any decision. Agreeing, the court issued notice to PTI and the Press Council of India