GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday, February 25 reserved its verdict on a plea seeking an independent investigation into 171 alleged fake police encounters in Assam between May 2021 and August 2022. The Assam government informed the court that the 2014 guidelines for investigating police encounters were strictly followed and argued that unnecessary targeting of security forces could have a demoralising effect.
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Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Assam government, asserted that all necessary protocols and safeguards had been implemented in compliance with the Supreme Court’s guidelines set in the 2014 case of PUCL v. Maharashtra. He emphasised that security personnel found guilty of misconduct should face consequences but also stressed the need to protect officers from unwarranted scrutiny.
Mehta added, "All the necessary protocols are followed and safeguards taken. If they (security personnel) are guilty, they need to be punished but if they are not guilty, then they need to be protected by the state. Unnecessary targeting may have a demoralising effect on security forces especially the conditions they have been working."
Mehta questioned the legitimacy of the petition filed by Arif Md Yeasin Jwadder, suggesting that the petitioner had presumed all encounters to be fake without credible evidence. He argued that no formal complaints or FIRs had been lodged in these cases and criticised the petitioner for seeking details of the investigation while being based in Delhi.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, argued while countering the claims that an honest officer should not fear an independent investigation. He cited statements from individuals injured in encounters and from families of the deceased, which he claimed indicated that the encounters were staged. Bhushan pressed for an independent probe led by a retired judge and the registration of FIRs against the responsible police officers.
The case stems from a petition challenging a January 2023 Gauhati High Court order dismissing concerns over the encounters. The high court had cited an Assam government affidavit revealing that 56 people had died, including four in custody, while 145 others were injured in these incidents.
Previously in July 2023, the Supreme Court sought responses from the Assam government on the plea challenging the high court order.
