A Division Bench of the Hyderabad High Court comprising Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy and Justice M.S.K. Jaiswal on Friday acquitted Satyam Babu of the charges of murdering a girl student in her hostel on the night on December 27, 2007. The Bench reprimanded the police officers and directed initiation of proceedings against these officers and awarded cost of ₹1 lakh to the appellant.
The Bench was allowing the criminal appeal filed by Satyam Babu. The case of the police was that he barged into a hostel at Ibrahimpatnam and killed Ayesha Meera. The allegation was that he raped her too. He was found guilty by a court at Vijayawada and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Bench heard the matterand took note of the issues raised by counsel appearing for the appellant, regarding the shoddy investigation.
The various shortcomings in the investigation like the original complaint being that a group indulged in the crime and then declaring that Satyam Babu was the lone accused, were examined by the Bench.
The Bench said that an innocent person has been shown as accused and proceeded against and that the real culprits have escaped.
The Bench ordered initiation of proceedings against the officers. The court said that Satyam Babu shall be paid ₹1 lakh as costs. He can initiate separate proceedings for compensation for being framed under malicious prosecution.
