Harshita Sharma
Published on July 15, 2022 at 18:06 IST
A petition filed by an activist named Himanshu Kumar and 12 others on 2009 alleging that the security forces in Chhattisgarh had shot down over 10 tribals from the Dantewada district saw its final fate when the Supreme Court dismissed the petition with a hefty fine of Rs. 5 Lakhs. A Division Bench of Justices A.M.Khanwilkar and J.B. Pardiwala pronounced that the allegations by the petitioners were fabricated and falsely implicated. They directed the Chhattisgarh state government to act against the petitioners under Section 211 of the Indian Penal Code which talks about “False Charges” along with charges for “Criminal Conspiracy”.
The Bench agreed with the Union Government’s claim that the killings had been carried out by the Naxals and not the forces, as alleged by the petitioners. This false depiction cost the petitioner a heavy fine which is to be deposited with the Supreme Court Legal Service Committee within four weeks. However, the court rejected the state’s plea to initiate Perjury Proceedings against the main petitioner in the case. It gave empowered the state to exercise its discretion to proceed against the petitioners under the charges framed by the Supreme Court.
