We cannot allow the Republic to kill its own children: SC

The Supreme Court today sought an answer from the Centre and the Andhra Pradesh government on the killings of Naxal leader Azad and journalist Hemchandra Pandey in an alleged fake encounter.

“We cannot allow the Republic killing its own children,” a bench of Justices Aftab Alam and R M Lodha said.

The court made the observation while issuing notices to the Centre and the state government on a petition filed by social activist Swami Agnivesh and Pandey’s 30-year-old widow, Babita, seeking a judicial probe into the killings.

The bench asked the Centre and the state government to reply within six weeks. “We hope there will be a answer. There will be a good and convincing answer,” the bench said. “The government will have to answer so many questions.”

Cherukuri Rajkumar, alias Azad, a senior member of banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) Central Committee, and Pandey, dubbed by the police as a Naxal, were killed in an alleged fake encounter on the intervening night of July 1-2, 2010, in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh, close to Maharashtra.

The petition alleged the post-mortem reports of both persons and a fact-finding exercise carried out by rights groups clearly indicated that the encounter was not genuine.

The petitioners referred to the fact-finding carried out by Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisations, a national coalition of human rights organisations, that both were killed by the Andhra Pradesh Police in blatant violation of their rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

The petition alleged that Azad, 58, who carried a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head, and Pandey, 32, were killed from a very close range, evident from the post-mortem reports.