The Telangana High Court is likely to take a call on Saturday on conducting re-postmortem examination of the bodies of four persons killed in the Shadnagar ‘encounter’ case.
A division bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek Reddy directed the Gandhi Hospital superintendent to be present on Saturday during the hearing of the matter. Following an appeal by Advocate General B.S. Prasad, who opposed the bench’s proposal for autopsy for a second time by experts from outside the State, the bench granted time till Saturday to file the counter affidavit.
Saturday is a holiday for the HC but the bench is assembling specially to hear the matter. Objecting to the idea of re-postmortem examination by experts from outside, the AG said forensic experts from the State have the expertise to carry out the same.
The bench said “not only the entire country but even the world was watching the developments” of Disha case. The matter was not only important for the police and the State but also for the courts since facts had to be ascertained. The government needs to be transparent on the matter and some petitioners had sought to conduct autopsy of the bodies again, the bench noted.
Hearing one of the PIL pleas on Disha case, the bench mooted a proposal to get the second autopsy by doctors from Delhi. He wanted time till Monday to explain government stand on the issue. Turning down his request, the bench directed him to file counter by Saturday and observed that second autopsy was essential to ascertain facts in the light of the allegations against police that the accused were killed in a fake encounter.
Three days ago, the Supreme Court had passed an order that the ‘HC may pass appropriate order for collection of evidence’, senior lawyer and Amicus Curiae in Disha case D. Prakash Reddy said. In the light of the apex court order, the HC can take a call on conducting autopsy of the bodies again, the bench observed.
Bodies of the four accused, gunned down by Cyberabad police on December 6, had been preserved in Gandhi Hospital morgue here from December 10 following the HC direction. One of the petitioners had appealed to the court to hand over the bodies to the families of the accused.
The bench declined to intervene since by then the Supreme Court began hearing two PIL pleas on the case. The apex court had also passed an order barring the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and other HCs from hearing petitions on Disha case as it was already seized of the matter.
However, subsequently the apex court passed a direction on Wednesday stating the HC can issue direction for collection of evidence in the case.
