Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Thursday was not inclined to order re-post mortem of the bodies of Vikaruddin and four terror suspects who were killed in an encounter on April 7 at Alair in Nalgonda district. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Dilip B Bhosale and Justice S.V. Bhatt was disposing off an appeal by Md Ahmed, father of one of the victims, and his two other relatives and also others challenging an ord-er passed by a single judge refusing to order police to exhume the bodies and conduct re-post mortem.
The bench on Monday ordered the Special Investigation Team which was constituted to probe into the encounter to place the post mortem report before it. Pursuant to the direction the Telangana additional advocate general J. Ramachandra Rao placed the post mortem report. After perusing the report for a while, the bench said “We have seen the post mortem report. It is absolutely well and we do not find any defect in it. We are not inclined to divulge the contents of the report at this stage, but we can say that all forensic experts who have performed the autopsy noted down all the injuries on the bodies apart from the bullet injuries.”
The bench made it clear that it did not find any reason for ordering fresh autopsy at this stage as already more than 50 days have elapsed. Bodies will not be available and conducting autopsy on skeletal remains may not yield any fresh results.
When V. Raghunath, counsel for the appellants pressed for registration of murder case against the officers, who participated in the encounter, the AAG said that the SIT will take appropriate steps if it finds any evidence against the police officers.
The counsel urged the bench to grant liberty to the petitioners to make an application before the SIT seeking fresh autopsy of the bodies. While conceding the request, the bench disposed off the appeal directing the SIT to consider the application of the appellants and take a decision as per the law.
Cabinet status for advisers opposed
Gutha Sukender Reddy, Nalgonda Congress MP, on Thursday moved the Hyderabad High Court questioning the action of the Telangana government in conferring the status of ‘cabinet rank’ to persons appointed as advisors, special representatives of the government and also chairmen of various corporations.
The petitioner told the court that the government’s decision to confer cabinet rank status with perks will not only mean financial burden to the state exchequer, but will result in belittling the very expression since it originally applies only to the ministers of the state who are supposed to advice the executive head of the state. He said the state government has not formulated any guidelines in conformity with the law regarding conferment of cabinet rank status on different persons.
He said that Article 164 (1A) of the Constitution has imposed a ceiling of 15 per cent of the ministers who enjoy the status of cabinet rank, and conferring cabinet rank on persons who are not ministers would amount to a violation of Article 164 (1A). The petitioner urged the court to declare the action of the Telangana government as arbitrary and illegal.
Plea on Andhra Pori dismissed
Justice Vilas V Afzulpu-rkar on Thursday dismiss-ed a petition challenging the title of the Telugu film Andhra Pori scheduled for release on June 5. The judge was dealing with a plea by Andhra Association of Telangana, a society represented by its president K Veera Raghava Reddy.
The petitioner contended that the word Pori is an objectionable word to degrade the self-respect of the girl as defined under the Indecent Representat-ion of Women (Prohibi-tion) Act, 1986. The counsel for the CBFC submitted that there was no derogatory substance in the title.
The counsel appearing for the state women and child welfare department said that the word Pori is commonly used in Telan-gana and it does not show disrespect to a girl.
