According to the police, Dubey was shot dead while trying to escape after a car accident on July 10, a day after his arrest in Madhya Pradesh. (PTI)
The Supreme Court on Monday, while hearing a plea connection with the death of gangster Vikas Dubey and his associates, observed that the Uttar Pradesh government has the responsibility to uphold the law in the state. “It is your duty,” the bench led by CJI S A Bobde said. “We are appalled at the fact that such a person was released on bail despite all he has done. This is a clear failure. We need a clear report of all those orders,” it further added.
The Uttar Pradesh government, meanwhile, has agreed before to rework a committee to investigate the killing. The reconstituted panel will now include a retired Supreme Court judge and retired police officer, the UP government said. The next hearing will take place a month later after the government submits the draft notification of the reconstituted probe panel.
During the hearing, the court also said that it understands the “big difference” between Vikas Dubey’s killing and the Hyderabad rape-murder encounter and asked the government to consider adding an ex-judge of the apex court and a retired police officer in the inquiry committee set up by the bench to probe the matter. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, on behalf of Uttar Pradesh government, agreed to the court’s suggestion.
The court is hearing two petitions filed by lawyers Ghanashyam Upadhayay and Anoop Prakash Awasthi, seeking court-monitored probe in the killing of Dubey.
In its earlier hearing, the court appointed a committee to inquire into the killing, similar to the it had done in the Hyderabad rape-murder encounter case. The bench, however, added that it did not intend to monitor the probe as it would then make it impossible for the court to hear appeals.
The UP Police, meanwhile, told the court that Dubey’s killing cannot be termed as “fake encounter.”
According to the police, Dubey was shot dead while trying to escape after a car accident on July 10, a day after his arrest in Madhya Pradesh. He was a prime accused in the killing of eight police personnel who were part of the team that had gone to Bikru village in Kanpur to arrest Dubey in an attempt to murder case on July 2. The case triggered a political controversy, with opposition leaders alleging a bigger plot behind Dubey’s killing.