Supreme Court reserves judgement in petition against staged gunfights in Assam

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its judgement on a plea seeking an investigation into rampant “fake encounters” by the Assam Police, Live Law reported.

The petitioner, Arif Jwaddar, claimed that over 80 such staged gunfights have taken place in the state since May 2021, when Bharatiya Janata Party leader Himanta Biswa Sarma became the chief minister.

Jwaddar added that 28 people were killed and 48 were injured in “fake encounters” since May 2021.

Jwaddar approached the Supreme Court after the Gauhati High Court rejected his public interest litigation seeking an inquiry into the matter.

On Tuesday, Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, said that 16 guidelines prescribed in a 2014 Supreme Court judgment on police encounter deaths had been “rampantly violated” in Assam, The Hindu reported.

The judgement referred to was pronounced in People’s Union of Civil Liberties versus State of Maharashtra and ruled that “killings in police encounters require independent investigation” to restore public faith in the police.

Bhushan also pointed out that in the cases in Assam, first information reports were filed against the victims and not the police officers involved. He referred to statements from victims who were shot in the legs by an “encounter specialist”.

“The incidents were not random,” Bhushan said. “They showed a general pattern.”

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Assam, agreed that the 2014 judgement was binding...

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