Supreme Court rejects plea for probe into 'extra-judicial' killing of tribals in Chhattisgarh

A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and J B Pardiwala also imposed an exemplary cost of Rs 5 lakh on petitioner Himanshu Kumar

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea for a CBI probe against Chhattisgarh Police and central security forces for an alleged massacre of tribals in Dantewada in 2009 after finding glaring loopholes in the case.

"No case, worth the name, has been made out by the writ petitioners for any further investigation much less through an independent agency to be appointed by this court," a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and J B Pardiwala said.

The court also imposed a cost of Rs 5 lakh on petitioner Himanshu Kumar and others, including the victim's family members for misusing the judicial process.

On a plea by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, the court permitted a probe against individuals and organisations allegedly involved in securing legal protection to the Left-wing extremists through judicial processes.

The bench allowed the Chhattisgarh government to take appropriate steps in accordance with law in connection with assertions by the Centre.

In 2010, the top court directed a Delhi district judge to record the statements of the petitioners. However, the Centre said it could access these statements only in March, this year, showing "shocking aberrations and fabrications" between statements and pleadings and complaints made in the writ petition.

The petitioners led by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves accused the security forces of extra-judicial killings and demanded compensation for families of the deceased.

Gonsalves claimed the family members of the petitioners were killed in cold-blood by the Chhattisgarh Police, Special Police Officers (SPOs) appointed by the Chhattisgarh Government in collusion with the activists of the Salwa Judum (group of vigilantes sponsored by the Chhattisgarh government) and the central paramilitary forces consisting of the CRPF and the CoBRA Battalion, in two separate attacks on September 17, 2009, and on October 1, 2009, respectively.

The bench, however, said it is really taken by surprise that the senior counsel appearing for the petitioners is absolutely oblivious of the fact that all the FIRs were investigated by the concerned investigating agencies and, at the end of the investigation, charge sheets came to be filed in different courts of Chhattisgarh for the offences.

“What we are trying to convey is that the statements of the petitioners numbers two to 13 recorded before the judicial officer demolishes the entire case put up by Kumar, who is running an NGO," the bench said.

“We are of the view that no case, worth the name for further investigation or re-investigation, could also be said to have been made out,” the bench added.