Andhra Pradesh encounter: Bodies to be preserved till April 17, says High Court

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court today extended the time for preserving the bodies of six persons, gunned down in an encounter in the Seshachalam forests of Andhra Pradesh, till April 17, but refused to pass any order on re-postmortem. Justice M Sathyanarayanan adjourned the case till Friday next following a request from counsel for Muniammal of Polur of Thiruvannamalai district, wife of one of those killed.

She had sought conducting a re-postmortem on the body of her husband killed in the alleged encounter by Andhra Pradesh police in the Seshachalam Forests near Tirupati on Tuesday.

"There is no jurisdiction for this court to pass any order on re-postmortem because already Andhra Pradesh High Court is seized of the matter and there is PIL pending in the Supreme Court...this court cannot pass any order as there is no FIR filed in the jurisdiction of this court," the judge said.

The judge said the petitioner was at liberty to approach the Andhra Pradesh High Court or Supreme Court in this regard.

K Balu, counsel for the petitioner, submitted that the bodies be preserved till a decision was taken by the petitioners on approaching the Andhra Pradesh High Court or Supreme Court.

Following this, the judge adjourned the case to April 17. The bodies would be preserved in a mortuary in Thiruvannamalai District Headquarters government hospital, about 170 km from here.