The accused were killed in an exchange of fire, the police had said. (File)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it is considering appointing a former judge for inquiry into the killings of the four accused in the gang rape-and-murder case of a veterinarian in Telangana.
"We are conscious of the fact that the Telangana High Court had taken note of it," a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde said, adding that the court only wanted that a Delhi-based former judge should hold an inquiry into the case.
"We propose to appoint a former Supreme Court judge to inquire into it," said the bench, also comprising Justices SA Nazeer and Sanjeev Khanna.
The judge, who would inquire into the incident, would sit in Delhi, it said.
The bench has posted the PILs, seeking an independent SIT probe into the encounter, for hearing on Thursday.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and advocate Krishnakumar Singh, appearing for the Telangana government, said it had followed the directions laid down by the top court for an enquiry into encounters and had already referred the case to the state CID.
Two petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court, one by lawyers GS Mani and Pradeep Kumar Yadav, and the other by advocate ML Sharma, seeking independent investigation against the police officials concerned.
The PIL, filed by Mr Mani and Mr Yadav, claimed that the alleged encounter was "fake" and an FIR should be lodged against the police officials who were involved in the incident.
Telangana police said on Friday that the accused were killed in an exchange of fire with the police.
The incident took place around 6.30 am when the accused were taken to the site of offence for the reconstruction of the scene of crime as part of the investigation.
The four accused were shot dead on NH-44 near Hyderabad -- the same highway where the charred body of 27-year-old veterinarian found.