SIT probe into anti-Maiost operations undermines federal structure of policing powers: Chhattisgarh High Court  

REPORT

The Chhattisgarh High Court has said diverting the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) investigation into anti-Maoist operations would not only undermine the federal nature of policing powers but would also set a precedent inconsistent with established legal and administrative principles.

Dismissing a petition seeking an SIT inquiry into the killing of Communist Party of India (Maoist) Central Committee member Katha Ramachandra Reddy alias Vikalp in an anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur last month, a two-judge Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru ruled that counter-insurgency measures taken by the State or Central Security forces, cannot be subject to investigation by the SIT unless exceptional circumstances warrant such intervention.

In the said case, the petitioner, Raja Chandra, son of deceased Reddy, had sought formation of an SIT comprising honest and truthful police officers from outside the State of Chhattisgarh, alleging that his father was killed by security forces during a fake encounter.

Senior lawyer Colin Consalves, who attended the hearing on behalf of Chandra, stated that the situation and timing were as follows: [of the encounter] He stated that the dead persons were captured alive by the police with the help of his party members who helped the police locate them. The petitioner alleges that the deceased may have been taken to the forest after being caught/detained and killed by the security forces and police.

The petitioner submitted that under these circumstances, both the police and the Naxals numbered in hundreds and only two were present after the encounter. [the other being Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy alias Kosa Dada, another CCM of the banned outfit CPI (Maoist)] was killed. His lawyer argued that it was extremely suspicious that no other Maoists or security forces were killed or injured in the “alleged encounter”, in an environment where normally a high-ranking Maoist leader would be protected and surrounded by many other Maoists. Chandra also raised questions regarding the nature of the injuries on his father’s body.

Regarding the timing, Chandra mentioned a public statement made by his father in which he opposed abandoning the armed struggle. The petition states that a press release was issued on September 17 by a Politburo member, Comrade. [Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias] Sonu said that the Maoists wanted to give up the armed struggle and join the mainstream, and three days later, “another press statement was made by a person named Vikalp, who is stated to be the spokesperson of the Maoist party.” “According to the police, deceased Katta Ramchandra Reddy was the spokesperson of the Maoist party and he himself issued the second press release stating that the previous press release was not issued by the Maoists and that they did not intend to give up the armed struggle,” the petitioner said.

Notably, Sonu, who was mentioned in Chandra’s petition, surrendered along with 60 cadres. He surrendered in neighboring Maharashtra on October 14, the same day the Chhattisgarh High Court ordered dismissal of Chandra’s petition.

Opposing the petition, the State rebutted the allegations in detail and argued that the petition lacked merit and deserved to be dismissed.

After hearing both sides, the HC bench rejected the petition and said that the petition was entirely based on the arrest of the petitioner and his mother that the deceased was not killed in an anti-Maoist operation. The court also noted that there was no dispute that the deceased had made a habit of committing crimes and that numerous criminal cases had been opened against him.