SC to hear pleas seeking probe into alleged fake encounters in Gujarat

The Supreme Court Wednesday said the two separate petitions seeking a probe into the alleged fake encounters in Gujarat from 2002 to 2006 will come up for hearing after the next week.

The apex court was hearing separate pleas filed in 2007 by senior journalist BG Verghese, and noted lyricist Javed Akhtar and Shabnam Hashmi, seeking a probe into the alleged fake encounters. Verghese died in 2014.

The pleas came up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that a letter seeking adjournment of the hearing has been circulated by one of the parties as senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who is representing some private respondents in the matter, is unavailable due to health reasons.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners, said the matter has been pending for a very long time.

Bhushan said the report of the Justice HS Bedi committee, which had investigated several cases of alleged fake encounters in Gujarat from 2002 to 2006, had come a long time back.

“Somebody is not well. It (pleas) will retain its position on the board,” the bench said.

Former apex court judge Justice Bedi was appointed as the chairman of the monitoring committee probing 17 alleged fake encounter cases in Gujarat from 2002 to 2006 and had submitted a report to the top court in a sealed cover in 2019.

The committee recommended prosecution of police officials in three out of the 17 cases it probed.

The bench noted a request has been made that the pleas be taken up for hearing after next week.