Jan. 14: The Supreme Court on Friday admitted a set of petitions asking for a judicial probe into the alleged fake encounter of Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad by the Andhra Pradesh police.
The court issued notices to the state and Union governments with a strong observation that the Indian republic does not permit such killings of its own children.
“We hope there will be good response to the questions (raised in the petitions). Our Republic can’t bear the stains to kill its own children,” a bench of Justices Aftab Alam and R.M. Lodha said during a brief hearing. The state and Centre have been given six weeks to submit their affidavits.
The Union and AP governments were required to explain with “substantial evidence” the state police claim that the encounter was not fake as had been alleged in the petitions filed by Bineeta Pandey, widow of local journalist Hemchandra Panday who was killed along with Azad, and Arya Samaj leader Swami Agnivesh, who is trying to mediate between the central government and the Maoists to end the armed conflict and bring the Maoists to the negotiating table.
The petitioners raised serious doubts about the encounter that occurred on the intervening night of July 1 and 2, 2010 in Jogapur in Adilabad district. They urged the apex court to order a judicial enquiry to find out the truth.