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‘Probe underway’: Gauhati HC disposes PIL on alleged fake encounters in Assam
A petition in the Gauhati high court had sought inquiry by an independent agency into alleged incidents in Assam of deaths and injuries to persons in illegal police action, usually termed as ‘fake encounters’
The Gauhati high court on Friday disposed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a Delhi-based lawyer seeking inquiry by an independent agency into alleged incidents in Assam of deaths and injuries to persons in illegal police action, usually termed as ‘fake encounters’, noting that investigations are underway in all such cases.
A division bench of justices Suman Shyam and Susmita Phukan Khaund disposed the petition by Arif Jwadder against the Assam government and the state police alleging that due processes were not followed and persons who were in police custody were killed through extra-judicial means.
The court noted that while people were killed and injured in “police action”, the state government has registered first information reports (FIRs) into all such incidents and are carrying out investigations while disposing the PIL.
Jwadder, a resident of Assam who is practising law in Delhi, filed the PIL in December 2021 stating that the people killed or injured in fake encounters by police were not dreaded criminals and modus operandi of all such incidents as per police version has been the same.
The PIL also sought a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the Gauhati high court into the encounters, direction to the Assam government to set up human rights courts in each district and order monetary compensation to families of encounter victims after due verification.
During the hearing of the petition, the state government had filed three affidavits where it admitted that from May 2021 (when a new Bharatiya Janata Party government took charge in the state) till August 2022 there were 171 incidents in which there were four custodial deaths, 56 persons died in police action and 145 were injured.
It mentioned that separate FIRs have been registered in connection with all the incidents and investigation is going on in all cases. Assam advocate general Debajit Saikia also assured the court that appropriate action will be taken against all guilty persons including erring police officials once the inquiry is completed.
“It is evident that during the period number of persons had lost their lives and/or had suffered grievous injuries in police action. However, there is some explanation in those (government) affidavits as to the circumstances under which the incidents had allegedly occurred,” the court order said.
“What would be significant to note herein is that there has been no attempt on the part of the official respondents either to deny the occurrence or to suppress any facts from this court,” it added.
The court held that the question of constituting a special investigation team (SIT) or handing over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was not needed as there was no “deliberate attempt to shield the culprits” by the state government, the home department or the police.
The court held that there was no need to set up human rights courts in Assam as 12 such courts have already been set up in different districts of the state.
The court stated that the respondents shall provide all “legally permissible documents” to Jwadder including copies of FIRs and final reports of all 171 cases if he applied for the same “following the procedure prescribed by law”.
