Supreme Court dismisses plea on suspected staged shootout

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Monday dismissed a petition filed by the parents of a paralytic man allegedly killed by Uttar Pradesh Police in a staged shootout in Mathura May 15-16.

Petitioner Jhadmal and his wife Juhari had filed the petition to get the possession of the body of their son Saleem.

The vacation bench of the apex court headed by Justice G.S. Singhvi and comprising Justice C.K. Prasad dismissed the petition as withdrawn after the Uttar Pradesh government filed an affidavit saying that Saleem’s body was handed over to his cousin who identified it in the mortuary.

The court said that for the remaining dimensions of the case, the petitioner could move the state high court.

The court permitted this after counsel for the petitioner B.S. Baloria said that he would like to move the high court.

During the last hearing of the case, the senior counsel Ratnakar Dash appearing for the state government said that the body of Saleem has been handed over to the deceased’s relatives May 16 and it was buried.

The court had asked the state government to give an affidavit on its oral submissions.

After being satisfied that the body was handed over to the deceased’s relative, the court disposed off the case asking the petitioner to move the high court.

Jhadmal claimed that officials of three police stations - Mathura Refinery, Chhata and Farah - killed Saleem alleging that he had stolen a vehicle.

Police claimed that Saleem stole a Bolero jeep belonging to Pratap Singh Pradhan of Jundvai village along with other criminals, who managed to escape.

The petitioner said his son could not have stolen a vehicle because he was incapable of committing any crime due to a paralytic attack he suffered after an accident Nov 11, 2009.

The court was told that Saleem was not the lone victim of suspected staged shootouts under the Farha police station. Twenty other people have been killed by police in the last two months, the petitioner alleged.