The Supreme Court of India has ordered the Chhattisgarh police to preserve the body of Katha Ramchandra Reddy, a senior Maoist commander, who was reportedly killed in a fake encounter in Narayanpur district. A bench comprised of Justices Dipankar Datta and AG Masih instructed that the body should not be cremated or buried until the Chhattisgarh High Court resolves a petition alleging a fake encounter and associated torture.
The court emphasized that the body must remain intact until the High Court can examine the case, requesting that it be prioritized upon the court’s return from the Durga Puja vacation. The bench clarified that it was not expressing any views on the merits of the case.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing the petitioner Raja Chandra, alleged that his father was tortured and killed during the encounter, and claimed that police were attempting to dispose of the body. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state police, stated that two individuals were killed during the encounter, noting that a bounty of Rs 7 crore had been placed on Reddy by seven states. He reported that the body of one other Maoist from the incident had already been handed over to their family for cremation, while Reddy’s body remains in the hospital.
Mehta added that a postmortem examination had been conducted and video recorded, asserting that no wrongdoing could be attributed to the police. The Supreme Court bench acknowledged that the petition sought an independent investigation, potentially by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), without the involvement of local officers and requested a new postmortem examination.
The petitioner, Raja Chandra, a researcher at NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, had initially approached the Chhattisgarh High Court regarding the matter, but could not secure an urgent hearing due to the court’s vacation, prompting him to escalate the issue to the Supreme Court. The bench accordingly disposed of the petition with a direction to preserve the body for further action. The encounter in which Reddy and another individual, Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy, were killed occurred on September 22.
