Not possible to look into each case, will see if guidelines on encounter followed: SC on alleged Assam encounters
The Supreme Court has refused to look into each of the 171 alleged police encounters in Assam between May 2021 and August 2022, saying it can’t go into merits of each encounter even as it agreed to examine if its guidelines on extra-judicial killings were duly followed.
“We are not going to form any opinion on merits. We can’t...Only limited issue is compliance of PUCL (case) guidelines (pertaining to investigation of police encounters), that’s all”, a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh told advocate Prashant Bhushan who represented petitioner Arif Md Yeasin Jwadder.
In the PULC case (2014), the top court laid down guidelines to ensure transparency, accountability and proper investigation in cases of police encounters.
Referring to letters written by family members of victims or those injured in these encounters, Bhushan said the number was shocking. “The guidelines laid down for these encounters in the PUCL versus Maharashtra case (2014 case) by this court were grossly violated. It can be seen from the statements given by the injured and the family members of the deceased,” Bhushan submitted.
He said most of the FIRs in these cases were against the victims while the top court’s guidelines said a case should be registered against the policemen involved.
On behalf of the Assam Government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta questioned the bona fide and motive of the petitioner and asserted that the top court’s guidelines were being followed in true letter and spirit.
As Mehta said he needed to look into the averments made in the petition, the Bench posted the for hearing next week the petition challenging a January 2023 order of the Gauhati High Court dismissing a PIL over encounters by Assam Police.
The high court referred to an affidavit filed before it by the Assam government which said 171 incidents took place from May 2021 till August 2022 in which 56 people died, including four in custody, and 145 were injured.
On October 22, last year, the top court called the issue pertaining to 171 police encounters in Assam “very serious” and sought details, including on the probe conducted in these matters.
In July 2023, the apex court had asked the Assam Government and others on a petition challenging the high court’s order.
The petitioner claimed before the high court that over 80 “fake encounters” were conducted by Assam Police from May, 2021 till the filing of the petition, resulting in 28 deaths.
Contending that most of those killed or injured were not dreaded criminals, the petitioner sought an independent probe by CBI, SIT or a police team from other states against the police personnel concerned under the court’s supervision.