SC SEEKS UP GOVT REPLY ON ENCOUNTERS

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file its response within two weeks on a public interest petition seeking a CBI probe or a court-monitored investigation by a special investigation team (SIT) into all so-called encounter killings in the state after the current BJP government came to power in early 2017.

Filed by non-profit organization, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), the petition also asks for compensating families of those killed during the alleged fake police shootouts.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra did not issue a formal notice but asked Uttar Pradesh counsel, additional advocate general, Aishwarya Bhati to submit a written res– ponse and said the matter would be taken up after three weeks.

Appearing for the NGO, advocate Sanajy Parekh and Pukhramban Ramesh Kumar alleged the incidents of encounter killings in the state were a blatant violation of the rule of law and constitutional protection available to the citizens. They said when the petition was filed in May before the court the number of encounters reported were then 1000. “Today when the matter is being heard, the number has gone upto 1500,” Parekh said. Fiftyeight persons have been killed so far, he submitted. The lawyer also sought the National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) assistance in the matter.

“NHRC has issued two press statements. They have conducted some enquiry and had issued notice to the state long back. They may be called to assist the court,” he argued.

A HOME DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL SAID THE STATE LAW DEPARTMENT WILL STUDY THE SUPREME COURT DIRECTIVE OVER THE ENCOUNTERS AND SUBMIT A REPLY

However, the bench did not pay heed to his request.

The petition quoted the data Uttar Pradesh government had earlier provided to National Human Rights Commission and said: ”over 1100 encounters have taken place in the past year, wherein 49 people were killed and 370 were injured.”

“Each such encounter is required to be investigated on the basis of first information report, followed by a magisterial inquiry and thereafter, a criminal trial in accordance with law” read the plea, referring to the guidelines and directions Supreme Court has laid down in its earlier judgements on police encounter cases.