SC directs Assam govt to furnish details of 171 encounter killings in state

New Delhi, Oct 23: The Supreme Court on Tuesday termed "very serious" the issue pertaining to 171 police encounters in Assam from May 2021 to August 2022 and sought details, including about the probe conducted in these matters.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing a plea challenging a January 2023 order of the Gauhati High Court which had dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) raising the issue concerning these encounters by Assam Police, reported a national newswire.

In its order, the High Court had referred to an affidavit filed before it by the Assam government which said 171 incidents had taken place from May 2021 till August 2022 in which 56 people died, including four in custody, and 145 were injured.

During the hearing on Tuesday, the apex court observed, "It is a very, very serious issue. One hundred and seven-one incidents are alarming."

When the counsel appearing for Assam said the High Court was not inclined to entertain the PIL and termed it premature, the bench observed, "Petitions like this can't be brushed aside as pre- mature".

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner Arif Md Yeasin Jwadder, argued that a large number of encounters had taken place in Assam and the State police were not complying with the guidelines issued by the apex court in its 2014 judgement on the procedure to be followed in probing police encounter cases.

He argued the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Assam Human Rights Commission did not discharge their duties enjoined by law in these cases.

"In civil liberty matters, the Supreme Court expects you to be at the forefront," the bench told the counsel appearing for the commissions.

"Once they (Human Rights Commission) have received a letter or complaint, don't wait for the complainant to come to you. You use your machinery to find out the truth," the bench said.

Observing that it was not an adversarial litigation, the top court said it was conscious of the sensitivity of the matter and also about the geographical location of the State.

"But at the same time, if there is a mandate, then compliance is needed," it told the State's counsel, adding, "You have to follow the mandate its order that separate FIRs of law."

It asked the State to furnish details of these 171 incidents, including who investigated these cases and what was their outcome.

"The State has a very troubled past," the bench observed during the hearing.

The State's counsel said the High Court had noted in have been registered in all these 171 cases.

He said the State authorities were complying with the guidelines issued by the apex court in the 2014 verdict.

Earlier in September, the SC, while hearing a special leave petition (SLP) against an order of the Gauhati High Court on alleged fake encounters in Assam, had said that the manner in which accused are losing their lives doesn’t align with “the rule of law”.

The Supreme Court also said that it intended to form a Commission to look into the matter, following which the matter was adjourned to October 22, enabling the government to produce its counter-affidavit.

The petitioner had claimed before the High Court that over 80 "fake encounters" were conducted by Assam Police from May 2021 till the date of filing of the writ petition, resulting in 28 deaths.