Petitions were filed by the kins of the four persons killed in the Telangana encounter last December, which the Supreme Court refused to entertain on 28th February. The petitions were filed by the kin’s of the four person killed in the Telangana encounter last year in connection to the “Disha rape and murder case”. In the petitions, it was prayed that FIR should be lodged against the police personnel who killed the four men who were accused of raping and murdering the 27 year old woman. The petitions also prayed for compensation for the petitioners.
Prior facts
The four men who were accused of rape and murder of the 27 year old woman Disha (dubbed) were taken to the crime scene, around 60 kilo meters from Hyderabad, by the police for the re-construction of the crime scene as a part of the investigation last December. All four of them were killed by the police that day allegedly because they tried to escape from the scene of crime. Two PIL’s, one by advocates Mani and Yadav, and another by Advocate ML Sharma, were subsequently moved to the Supreme Court. The PIL questioned the extra-judicial killing of the four accused persons, as their guilt was yet to be proven.
The result of the PILs was that, an inquiry commission was formed. The Inquiry Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge, Justice VS Sirpurkar (Retd.) was formed to investigate the matter. The Inquiry Commission comprised of former Bombay High Court judge, Justice RP Sondurbaldota and former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, DR Karthikeyan as its members.
Key Features
- The SC refused to entertain the petitions filed by the kin of the four accused.
- The SC asked the petitioners to approach the Inquiry Commission.
- The SC granted the petitioners liberty to claim compensation before the Telangana High Court.
The Supreme Court’s order
The three judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde along with Justice BR Gavai and Justice Surya Kant, refused to entertain the plea filed the kin’s of the four men killed in the Telangana encounter last December. The Apex Court directed the petitioners to approach the three-member Commission constituted by the Court in December last year. As per the orders of the Supreme Court the Commission is expected to give report in this regard within six months.
The Supreme Court further granted the petitioners the liberty to approach the Commission to tender evidence after the Commission had furnished its report. The Court permitted the petitioners to withdraw the petition. The Supreme Court further added by granting the petitioners the liberty to claim compensation before the Telangana High Court.
Edited by J. Madonna Jephi
Approved & Published – Sakshi Raje
Reference
1. Bar and Bench, https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/telangana-encounter-supreme-court-refuses-to-entertain-plea-by-family-of-accused-who-were-killed-in-encounter (last visited 29th February, 2020, 8:02 PM)
