New Delhi: The SC on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking an independent probe into the alleged killing of 17 tribals during an anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh in 2009.
The bench hearing the plea imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the petitioner and social activist Himanshu Kumar. A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and J B Pardiwala directed the social activist to deposit a fine with Supreme Court Legal Services authority.
In the same notice, it rejected Centre’s plea to pursue a perjury case against the petitioner for giving false evidence in court.
The hearing was in connection to a plea submitted by Himanshu Kumar, who runs Vanvasi Chetna Ashram in Dantewada. He claimed that his petition is based on the testimonies he received from villagers about the anti-Naxal operation in Dantewada district in 2009 during which 17 villagers were killed in three separate incidents. He added that he was evicted from the Naxal-dominated area after he filed the petition.
According to the apex court, plea by the activist was filed to prevent the security forces from taking action against the leftists either by falsely accusing them or from bringing the leftists to court based on a fabricated story of persecution.