The Gauhati High Court on Monday directed the Assam government to apprise it of the alleged human rights violations in the state on account of encounter deaths since May last year.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Soumitra Saikia was hearing a PIL filed by a Delhi-based lawyer and Assam resident, Arif Md. Yeasin Jwadder. He had claimed that the police encounters were fake.
Arif said the court had asked the AG to inform the court about the progress made in the encounter cases referred by the state human rights commission in its order on July 7 last year, whereby it took suo motu cognizance of the alleged encounters and had issued notice regarding the matter.
Senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General of India Indira Jaising argued for the petitioner. The court has fixed the next hearing on January 11.
In his petition, Jwadder sought an independent probe either by CBI or by a special investigation team under the supervision of the High Court into the encounters in Assam that took place since May last year. Besides, he has sought registration of FIRs into the killings of alleged criminals under Section 302 of the IPC.
Jwadder has contended that as per media reports, over 80 police encounters have taken place since May last year, out of which 28 people have been killed and 48 injured in such “fake encounters”.
In July last year, he had lodged a complaint with the national human rights commission urging it to take cognizance and inquire into the encounters.
