Overview

• A division bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru dismissed Raja Chandra’s plea seeking an SIT from outside the state.
• The court held that routine anti-Naxal operations are not subject to SIT investigations unless clear, credible allegations of excesses arise, warning that such orders could undercut the federal policing framework.
• The petitioner, represented by Colin Gonsalves, alleged a staged killing, pointing to the absence of other casualties, the timing of internal Maoist statements, and three puncture wounds on the body.
• The state described a genuine intelligence-led gunfight in Abujhmad with recoveries including an AK-47, an INSAS rifle and a BGL launcher, and noted numerous cases against Reddy, who had been out of touch with family since 2007.
• The Supreme Court had earlier directed preservation of the body pending the High Court’s decision, and with the plea dismissed the court found no basis for an external probe.