The Madras High Court today dismissed a plea seeking to direct Tamil Nadu government to register a case against police officials involved in the encounter killings of "Dindigul" Pandi, who was allegedly involved in many grave crimes including murder, and his associate Velu in 2010.
The petition was filed by P Pugalenthi, Director, Prisoners Rights Forum, an NGO.
Dismissing the petition, the First Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M M Sundresh said the petitioner is not in possession of the requisite facts. There was no complaint implicating the concerned police officials.
"The petitioner has approached this court without any material evidence against the police officials", the bench said.
A special police team, on a tip-off that Pandi and Velu were travelling in a car, intercepted their vehicle at Kanathur on the city ouskirts on February 8, 2010. On seeing the police personnel, Pandi fired from his pistol and threw explosives. Velu attacked the police with a sickle injuring them.
The police retaliated by opening fire at the duo. Pandi and Velu, who suffered bullet injuries, were taken to a hospital where doctors declared them dead.
The counsel for the petitioner contended that there was no dispute that the death was caused at the hands of police. Therefore, the jurisdictional police ought to have registered a case for murder. The death having occurred at the instance of the police personnel, an independent inquiry should have been initiated, he contended.
The government pleader submitted that all procedures contemplated under the law has been duly complied with and the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) had conducted an inquiry and his report was accepted by the government, which has become final. In the absence of any material, the petitioner cannot seek a direction to register a case under section 302 IPC (murder), he said.
The bench dismissed the petition after perusing the report filed by RDO and said "an exhaustive inquiry was conducted and statements from different persons, including the family members of the deceased, have been obtained".
"The report submitted by the RDO was also accepted by the government," it said.
Under section 97 of IPC (right to private defence of the body and property), every person has a right to defend his body, the bench said.
