Dantewada killings: Supreme Court gives clean chit to forces, fines petitioner

Giving a clean chit to the Chhattisgarh police and central security forces, the Supreme Court on Thursday declared that 17 tribals, who died in two separate incidents of violence in Dantewada in 2009, were killed by Naxalites and not by the forces.

The court also imposed a fine of ₹5 lakh on state-based activist and petitioner Himanshu Kumar for demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the killing.

The security forces had no role to play, rather Naxals were responsible for the massacre, a bench of justices AM Khanwilkar and JB Pardiwala said. The exemplary cost must be imposed on Kumar for filing the petition that sought to hold the Chhattisgarh police and members of a specialised unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) responsible for the incidents, they added.

“The filing of the charge sheets at the conclusion of the investigation into various FIRs would indicate that the alleged massacre was at the end of the Naxalites (Maoists). The materials collected in the form of the charge sheets substantiate the case put up by the respondents (Centre, state and CRPF) that villagers were attacked and killed by the Naxalites. There is not an iota of material figuring in the investigation on the basis of which even a finger can be pointed towards the members of the police force,” held the bench.

It pointed out that FIRs and chargesheets have been filed against those involved in the killing of the tribals but the petitioner feigned ignorance of those proceedings, and instead chose to lay the blame on the security forces.

“We have reached to the conclusion that no case, worth the name, has been made out by the writ petitioners for any further investigation much less through an independent agency to be appointed by this Court… this is a very serious matter as it relates directly to the security of the nation,” underlined the court.

Besides imposing the monetary penalty on Kumar, the top court also permitted the state and the Centre to initiate a criminal investigation against the activist petitioner and other individuals and organisations, allegedly involved in securing legal protection for left-wing extremists through judicial processes.

“Prima facie, it could be said that false information was given by the first informants to the police as regards the alleged massacre by the police force… Thus, we leave it to the State of Chhattisgarh/CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) to take appropriate steps in accordance with law,” said the bench, allowing the application moved by the Union government in April this year. It added that the investigation may not be limited to the charge of creating false evidence but may also invoke charges of criminal conspiracy or any other offence under the Indian Penal Code.

This is the second order by a bench led by justice Khanwilkar in recent past wherein criminal prosecution has been approved by the court against the petitioner, who moved public interest litigation (PIL) demanding a probe. On June 24, the court upheld the special investigation team’s clean chit to then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and 62 others in the 2002 riots case.

While dismissing the appeal by Zakia Jafri, the widow of Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Ehsan Jafri who died during the riots, the bench, led by justice Khanwilkar, recommended prosecution of various persons, including activist Teesta Setalvad, for the alleged abuse of process and fabricating evidence. A day after the court order, Teesta was arrested by the Gujarat police on charges of fabrication of evidence regarding the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

In the present case, Kumar filed the petition in 2009, accusing Chhattisgarh police and CRPF of killing 17 tribals in two separate incidents in Dantewda district. Kumar’s petition joined 12 family members of those killed for corroborating the version of extra-judicial killings.

The plea alleged that security forces killed two natives from Velpocha and Nalkathong villages, along with nine others at Gompad, on October 1, 2009. It further held them responsible for the deaths of six villagers at Gachanpalli on September 17, 2009. The petition demanded a CBI probe into the killings, strict action against the security forces and compensation for the victims’ families.

In February 2010, the top court asked Delhi’s district judge GP Mittal to record statements of the 12 tribal petitioners, in the presence of an interpreter as well as Kumar. The court also directed videography of the entire incident to ascertain witnesses are free from any coercion or threat, besides ordering security for them. The district judge submitted his report on the witnesses’ statements and on March 19, 2010, the top court directed that the report be given to all the parties.

The matter came up for a final hearing earlier this year when the Centre moved an application through the ministry of home affairs (MHA), pointing out that the district judge’s report had surprisingly gone missing from the court records and it was only in March this year that the Union government could obtain it.

According to the Centre, this report revealed that the complainants before the Supreme Court testified before the district judge that some unknown persons came from the forest and murdered the villagers. None of them made any allegation against members of the security forces, the plea added.

“In fact, they have clearly stated that none of them was even present at the place of such crimes as they had all run away in the jungle upon hearing the sound of the firings,” contended the application.

The report, the Centre said, brought to light malicious attempts by Kumar and other petitioners to mislead the court by maligning the security forces. It thus urged the court to direct any central investigating agency, including the CBI or the National Investigation Agency (NIA), to register a criminal case and carry out a comprehensive probe to identify individuals and organisations involved in litigation to protect violent maoist activities.

The plea sought to investigate those “who have been conspiring, abetting and facilitating filing of petitions premised on false and fabricated evidence before this Hon’ble court (Supreme Court) as well as before the hon’ble high courts with a motive to either deter the security agencies to act against the left wing (Naxal) militia by imputing false charges on them or to screen off the left wing (Naxal) militia from being brought to justice by creating a false narrative of victimization before the hon’ble courts.”

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Kumar, tried to raise questions over the manner in which the statements of tribal petitioners were recorded before the Delhi district court but the top court shot down the contention on the ground that no such plea was made in the last 12 years.

“It is too late in the day now to cast any insinuations or aspersions against the judicial officer of the rank of district and sessions judge, who had acted under the directions of this court,” it said.