Hyderabad: The Supreme Court’s order with regard to encounter killings has come as a shot in the arm for civil rights organisations in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state.
The SC on Tuesday granted an order on a plea by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties against Maharashtra, ruling that there should be an investigation by an independent agency like the Crime Investigation Department in encounter cases.
In 2009, the AP High Court had ruled that every police officer participating in encounters would be booked under IPC Section 302 (Murder) and investigations would be carried out. But the HC order had been stayed by the SC.
On Tuesday, the SC itself ruled that in cases of police encounters there should be an investigation by an independent agency.
The AP Civil Liberties Committee, which had launched a legal battle against the encounters in 1984 after the killing of senior Naxalite Suryam, has now decided to move the court seeking registration of cases against the police officers involved in the encounters.
D. Suresh Kumar, vice president APCLC and advocate of the HC, said that they had filed a complaint against the officers involved in the encounter killings of several slain Maoist leaders including Madhav, Cherukuri Rajkumar, Nalla Adi Reddy, Y. Santosh Reddy, Seelam Naresh, Shakamuri Appa Rao, Patel Sudhakar Reddy and Riyaz of CPI ML (Janashakati)).
He said the committee had filed more than 100 complaints against the officers but cases were not booked due to the stay order.
Mr Kumar said trials were stayed by the HC with regard to killing of alleged noted offenders Budda Shantan and Pilli Prasad and in view of the latest verdict, the committee would file vacate stay petitions to complete the trials against the police officers associated with these encounters.
Meanwhile, police officials say the verdict was misplaced and ignored the challenges faced by the police in combating terrorist forces.
While civil rights organizations are making efforts to proceed against the police officers, the cops say that the verdict was misplaced and de-contextualized as it ignored the challenge faced by the police in combating the Maoists and other terrorist forces, and would therefore, spell doom for the morale of the police.
Meanwhile, a Supreme Court bench has said in police encounters, any intelligence or tip-off regarding criminal movements shall be reduced into writing or in some electronic form.
Justice R.F. Nariman, said “In a society governed by rule of law, it is imperative that extra-judicial killings are independently investigated so that justice may be done.”
The apex court said there should be no delay in sending FIR, diary entries, panchnamas, sketch, etc., to the concerned court and the concerned police officer(s) must surrender his or her weapons for forensic and ballistic analysis.
“If it is found that death occurred by use of firearm amounting to offence under the IPC, disciplinary action must be initiated and the officer must be suspended,” it said.
The bench said six monthly statements of all cases where deaths have occurred in police firing must be sent to NHRC by DGPs and allowed victim's family to file complaint to the Sessions Judge if the guidelines framed by it is not followed.
"In India, unfortunately, such structured guidelines and procedures are not in place where police is involved in shooting and death of the subject occurs in such shooting.
"We are of the opinion that it is the constitutional duty of this court to put in place certain guidelines adherence to which would help in bringing to justice the perpetrators of the crime who take law in their own hands," it said.
The court passed the judgement on a plea filed by an NGO Peoples Union for Civil Liberties for framing guidelines in encounter cases alleging that 99 encounters took place in Mumbai resulting in death of about 135 persons between 1995 and 1997.
"We are not oblivious of the fact that police in India has to perform a difficult and delicate task, particularly, when many hardcore criminals like extremists, terrorists, drug peddlers, smugglers who have organised gangs, have taken strong roots in the society but then such criminals must be dealt with by the police in an efficient and effective manner so as to bring them to justice by following rule of law," it said.
