Ayesha case: AP told to file counter in a week

The High Court at Hyderabad has directed the Andhra Pradesh State government to convey whether it intends to reinvestigate the murder case of BPharmacy student Ayesha Meera. It directed the government to file a counter affidavit in this regard within a week.

The division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice J Uma Devi gave this direction on Thursday, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation petition filed by Osmania University retired Professor Rama Melkote, journalist K Sajaya and social activist V Sandhya Rani.

They underlined the need for reinvestigation into the sensational murder case after the High Court verdict declaring the convict P Satyam Babu as innocent in the case. Ayesha Meera’s parents also filed a separate petition seeking a CBI probe into the murder case or reinvestigation under the supervision of the High Court. Both petitions have been clubbed and are being heard together.

Andhra Pradesh Government Pleader for Home Department, Vidyavathi, informed the bench that the police moved a petition before Vijayawada Fourth Additional Metropolitan Magistrate seeking permission to reinvestigate the case, but the Magistrate rejected the petition saying he had no powers to pass such an order.

The bench reacted sharply to this, saying why the government sought the Magistrate’s permission, instead of filing counter affidavit here seeking the same, on which appropriate orders could have been passed. When the Government Pleader sought two weeks to file a counter affidavit, the bench expressed displeasure at the delay in filing and directed that the government must file the same within a week, clearly stating its position on reinvestigation. The case was adjourned to September 7.