SC refuses to entertain plea by kin of slain Maoist leader Basavaraju

New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea by the kin of top Maoist leader Nambala Keshav Rao, who was killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh in May, over the handing over of his body for performing final rites.

Rao, widely known as Basavaraju, along with 26 others was killed in a fierce encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region. Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, Basavaraju was considered the top leader and ideological backbone of the Naxal movement.

The last rites of Rao and seven other cadres killed in the encounter were performed by authorities on May 26 and they were cremated in Narayanpur.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing the plea by two family members of Rao challenging a May 29 order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

The high court had dismissed their plea seeking contempt action against authorities for allegedly violating its May 24 order.

On May 24, the high court had disposed of two petitions, leaving it open for the petitioners to approach the police authority concerned of Chhattisgarh and seek custody of the bodies of Sajja Venkata Nageswara Rao alias Rajanna and Basavaraju.

During the hearing on Monday, the counsel appearing for the kin of Basavaraju said that on May 24, the Advocate General of Chhattisgarh had appeared in the high court and made a statement that post-mortem of the bodies would be completed during the day and after the completion of the autopsy, they would be handed over to the relatives.

"Keeping aside contempt for a moment, I am praying to your lordships to entertain this matter, examine and lay down some guidelines," the counsel said, adding that around 25 people were killed in the encounter.

He said the bodies of those who were from Chhattisgarh were handed over to their relatives. He said the kin of Basavaraju were from Andhra Pradesh and were not given the body.

"Today, even the ashes of the deceased have not been returned," the lawyer said.

The bench observed that "so many times the family members don't even come forward to claim the dead body".

The lawyer said Basavaraju's kin had gone to the authorities the same day to take the body.

"That would be an issue to be decided in appropriate proceedings, not in this contempt. The high court never issued any directions," the bench observed.

"This contempt petition is not going to help you. Avail other remedies," the top court told the petitioner's counsel.

The bench said the contempt proceeding was rightly closed by the high court.

It noted that the counsel appearing for the petitioners, after arguing for some length, submitted that "this petition may be dismissed as withdrawn, leaving it open for the petitioner to avail such other remedy as may be available under law before an appropriate forum".

Basavaraju carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head in Chhattisgarh alone. PTI ABA RT