Supreme Court orders Assam Human Rights Commission to probe alleged fake encounters

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Assam Human Rights Commission to probe the alleged cases of fake encounter killings by police in Assam [Arif Yeasin Jwadder vs State of Assam and ors]..A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh passed the direction on a petition filed by advocate Arif Yeasin Jwadder against Gauhati High Court's refusal to order an independent probe into the encounters.Though the top court observed that a mere compilation of cases cannot lead to omnibus judicial directions, it acknowledged that the allegation of fake encounters is serious.Use of excessive or unlawful force by public authorities in victim cannot be legitimised, it said."The allegation that some of these incidents may involve fake encounters is indeed serious and if proven, would amount to a grave violation of right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. It is also equally possible that upon a fair, impartial and independent investigation, some of these cases might may turn out to be necessary and legally justified," it added..However, the Court said that some of the cases flagged by the State itself may warrant further evaluation to ascertain whether the guidelines previously laid down by the Supreme Court have been complied with or not.Considering the same, the Court decided to refer the matter to the Assam Human Rights Commission."Accordingly, we deem it appropriate to entrust the inquiry of the matter to the State Human Rights Commission," it ordered.The Court said that victims of the alleged incidents or their families must be given a fair and meaningful opportunity to participate in the proceedings. In this regard, the Court directed the State Human Rights Commission to issue a public notice.Further, the Court said that if the Commission comes to a conclusion that further investigation is warranted, it shall be at liberty to do so. "For this purpose, the State Commission may engage the services of retired or serving police officers of impeccable integrity and unblemished record, provided that such officers are not in any way connected with or subordinate to the police personnel involved in the alleged incidents," it added..The plea before the top court raised concerns over fake encounters in Assam and sought the registration of First Information Reports (FIRs) for the offence of murder against the accused police personnel.The Assam government had earlier contended that in the last ten years, only 10 per cent of fleeing criminals have been injured in police action and this was done as a measure of self-defence.