Hyderabad encounter killings case: SC extends term of Commission

This is the second time the top court has granted six months’ time to the commission to file its final report, since it was setup on December 12, 2019

The Supreme Court on Friday extended the term of Justice V S Sirpurkar Commission, who is probing into Hyderabad encounter deaths of four accused of gangrape and murder of a veterinary doctor, by another six months.

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian granted an additional six months' time to the Commission to finish its inquiry.

Read | Hyderabad encounter: Supreme Court extends time by 6 months for inquiry panel to conclude probe

Acting on two PILs, filed by advocates G S Mani and Mukesh Kumar Sharma for probe into the Hyderabad encounter, the court had on December 12, 2019, appointed the Commission, headed by Justice Sirpurkar as chairman and former Bombay HC judge Justice R P Soundarbaldota and former CBI director D R Kaarthikeyan as its members, to conduct an inquiry into the incident within six months.

In July 2020, the Commission sought an extension saying that due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic, it could not conduct its proceedings since March 25 lockdown.

The Commission had then sought six months' extension from the date it would be able to conduct open hearings and do spot inspection in order to submit its report.

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The four accused, Mohammed Arif, Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu, Jolu Shiva, and Jollu Naveen were arrested in connection with the gangrape and murder of the veterinary lady doctor in November 2019. On December 6, 2019, these four accused were killed in an encounter in Hyderabad when they allegedly attacked policemen and tried to flee during the collection of evidence.