Supreme Court passes Terms of Reference for Inquiry Commission probing Hyderabad encounter

The Supreme Court of India has specified the terms of reference that need to be followed by the Inquiry Commission constituted to investigate the encounter of the four accused in the horrific Hyderabad rape and murder case. 

Justice VS Sirpurkar, who is a former judge from the Bombay High Court, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Inquiry Commission. Other people within the Commission include the former Bombay High Court judge, Justice RP Sondurbaldota and former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, DR Karthikeyan. 

Commission’ powers 

The Inquiry Commission will constitute the powers specified under the Inquiry Act of 1952. The apex court had stated that it was important to constitute the Commission in order to ensure the truth related to the incident is told. The Supreme Court has also ruled that the Commission is expected to furnish a report within six months. 

Read: Hyderabad Horror: 1st reaction from the victim's family after encounter-killing of accused

Terms of Reference for the Inquiry Commission 

• As per the terms set by the apex court, the Inquiry Commission is set up to probe the alleged incident which led to the encounter of the four accused.  
• The top courts have also stated that the Commission needs to inquire about the circumstances that led to the incident and if any offence appears to have been committed in the course. If yes, to fix the responsibility of erring officials. 
• The terms also state that the Chairman of the Inquiry Commission will be paid Rs.1,50,000/- (Rupees One Lakh and Fifty Thousand only) per sitting. Additionally, the Members of the Commission will be paid Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh only) per sitting.  

Read: Hyderabad Horror: BJP issues statement on police encounter of all 4 rape accused

Media barred from reporting? 

The Supreme Court will also take a call on whether the media is supposed to report on the proceedings of the Inquiry Commission. This came after a submission was filed by a Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi during a hearing last month. 

The top court bench after the hearing observed that "it would be appropriate to hear the Media before passing any order in this regard". Following this observation, the top Court last month issued notice to the Press Trust of India and the Press Council of India which represent the electronic and print media in the country. 

Read: Hyderabad Horror: Jaya Bachchan reacts on four accused killed in a police encounter

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