SC mulls appointing ex-apex court judge to enquire into Hyderabad encounter

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it was considering to appoint a former apex court judge to enquire into the encounter killings of four accused persons in the sensational gangrape-and-murder case of a veterinarian in Telangana.

"We are conscious of the fact that the Telangana High Court had taken note of it," a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde said, adding that the top court only wanted that a Delhi-based former apex court judge should enquire into the case.

"We propose to appoint a former Supreme Court judge to enquire into it," the bench, also comprising justices S A Nazeer and Sanjeev Khanna, said.

It clarified that the former apex court judge, who would enquire into the incident, would sit in Delhi.

The bench has now posted the PILs, seeking an independent SIT probe into the encounter, for hearing on Thursday.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and advocate Krishnakumar Singh, appearing for the Telangana government, said it had followed the directions laid down by the apex court for an enquiry into encounters and had already referred the case to the state CID.