The Supreme Court on Friday extended the term of Justice V S Sirpurkar Commission, probing into Hyderabad encounter deaths of four men accused of gang rape and murder of a veterinary doctor, by another six months.
A bench presided over by Chief Justice S A Bobde allowed an application filed by the court-appointed Commission on the ground that due to prevailing Covid-19 pandemic, it could not conduct its proceedings since March 25 lockdown.
During the hearing, an advocate sought orders to prevent what he alleged were custodial deaths in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh
"How can any court in the world grant relief like this and say there should be no crime? As a lawyer you have a greater responsibility. Tell us, how can we ensure that there will be no deaths in custody? Somebody may die of natural causes," the bench said.
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 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 a period of six months.
The Commission 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.
(Published 24 July 2020, 09:08 IST)
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