R. Balaji, TT, New Delhi, Nov. 1: The Supreme Court had recently said security forces had no inherent right to shoot people, which suggests that yesterday's killing of the eight Simi operatives by Madhya Pradesh police went against that ruling.
The court had held that even if a person was seen carrying weapons in a "disturbed" area, it did not automatically give the security forces the right to shoot him.
Even the army had no blanket immunity to use excessive retaliatory force against suspected enemies of the country under the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Justices Madan B. Lokur and U.U. Lalit had said in July this year.
Yesterday, a senior Madhya Pradesh police officer had claimed the eight operatives of the banned group had opened fire from a high place, forcing the police to retaliate.
The court's July 8 ruling had come on a public interest plea that alleged 1,528 extra-judicial killings by the army and Manipur police over the past decade in the insurgency-affected state.
It punctured the Centre's contention that a "war-like situation" prevailed in Manipur, although the bench acknowledged that the state had "internal disturbances".
Earlier, in September 2014, a bench headed by the then Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha had laid down guidelines for dealing with encounter killings, following a petition filed by a rights group.
The People's Union for Civil Liberties had sought the guidelines, saying most such encounters were staged.
The bench of Justices Lodha and R.F. Nariman said killings in police encounters affected the credibility of the rule of law and the administration of the criminal justice system.
"We are not oblivious of the fact that police in India has to perform a difficult and delicate task, particularly when many hardcore criminals, like extremists, terrorists, drug peddlers (and) smugglers who have organised gangs, have taken strong roots in the society, but then such criminals must be dealt with by the police in an efficient and effective manner so as to bring them to justice by following the rule of law.
"We are of the view that it would be useful and effective to structure appropriate guidelines to restore the faith of the people in the police force.
"In a society governed by the rule of law, it is imperative that extra-judicial killings are properly and independently investigated so that justice may be done," the court had said.
One of the guidelines the court had framed was no immediate out-of-turn promotions or instant gallantry awards for the police personnel involved in such encounters.
The bench had also said any encounter killing must be probed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the state concerned or a team from a police station other than the one under which the alleged encounter had taken place.
The probe has to be supervised by a senior officer, at least a level above the head of the police team involved in the encounter, the court said.
Some of the other guidelines the court had framed:
♦ Any intelligence or tip-off about activities pertaining to a grave criminal offence shall be recorded in writing or in some electronic form. The recording need not reveal details of suspect(s) or location;
♦ If an encounter follows where a firearm is used by the police and, as a result of that, death occurs, an FIR shall be registered and forwarded without delay to the magistrate concerned;
♦ A magisterial inquiry must be held in all cases of death in police firing;
♦ The involvement of the National Human Rights Commission not necessary unless there is serious doubt about the impartiality of the probe. But information of the incident must be sent without delay to the NHRC or the state rights commission, as the case may be;
♦ The police officer concerned must surrender his/her weapons for forensic and ballistic analysis;
♦ If investigation shows that death occurred by use of firearm amounting to an offence under the penal code, disciplinary action against the officer concerned must be promptly initiated and the officer placed under suspension;
♦ Services of a lawyer/counselling, should the officer's family need such help; and
♦ Adequate compensation for dependants of the victim of a police encounter.
NHRC notice
The NHRC has directed the Madhya Pradesh government to file detailed reports on the circumstances that led to the killing of the eight terror undertrials, alleged to have broken out of jail after slitting the throat of a guard.
The commission has asked for the reports within six weeks.
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