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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Supreme Court cracks down on police ‘encounter’ killings
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Supreme Court cracks down on police ‘encounter’ killings

Every death at police hands must now be recorded and investigated by an independent agency or a police unit not involved in the case, says the apex court

The Supreme Court gave its ruling after the People’s Union for Civil Liberties filed a petition asking it to investigate the matter.Premium
The Supreme Court gave its ruling after the People’s Union for Civil Liberties filed a petition asking it to investigate the matter.

New Delhi: A Supreme Court bench of chief justice R.M. Lodha and justice Rohinton F. Nariman on Tuesday outlined a 16-point guideline to follow in cases of death or grievous injury in police encounters.

The case originates with a public interest litigation filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) before the Bombay high court, which later came to the apex court in appeal. PUCL had challenged the genuineness of at least 99 so-called encounters -- staged killings -- between the Mumbai Police and alleged criminals resulting in their deaths between 1995 and 1997.

The police must keep in writing information about any criminal activity which leads to the encounter. If the use of firearm causes the death of a “criminal", a first information report is to be registered and forwarded to a magistrate’s court.

An independent investigation will be conducted either by the state crime investigation department (CID) or a team from another police station, the order notes. Delay with regard to “sending FIR, diary entries, panchnamas, sketch, etc., to the concerned court" should be avoided, and if chargesheet is filed post-investigation, the trial should be completed “expeditiously".

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) must be informed of the status of the investigation into the encounter death every six months, the court said, increasing accountability of the authorities.

The order also directed disciplinary action against officers who cause death or grievous injury to an alleged criminal by the “use of firearm amounting to offence under the IPC (Indian Penal Code, 1860)".

The guidelines also state that no “out-of-turn promotion or instant gallantry rewards" shall be given to such officers “soon after the occurrence".

The court also allowed the family of the victim to approach a trial court with a complaint if the procedure laid down by the court was not followed.

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Published: 23 Sep 2014, 06:11 PM IST
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