GUWAHATI:
The Assam government, after failing to file an affidavit on the PIL (public interest litigation) on fake encounters in the state on the appointed date, sought another 10 days for the same on June 7.
This is not the first time that the state government has asked for an extension, as on May 11 also it had sought additional days to file the affidavit, for which the High Court had granted three weeks. Advocate General Devajit Lon Saikia had appeared for the state when the PIL was taken up for hearing.
Lawyer and activist Arif Jwadder, who filed the PIL, sought an order from the High Court for the registration of an FIR in the alleged fake encounter cases and an independent investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or a police team from another state, under the supervision of the High Court.
Jwadder also sought a judicial inquiry by a sitting Judge of the Gauhati High Court into the alleged encounters and monetary compensation to the families of the victims after due verification.
The Assam Police, the department of law and justice, and the Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) have not yet filed their responses in terms of the notices issued by the court.
Jwadder had in the PIL claimed that more than 80 “fake encounters” have taken place in the state, resulting in 28 deaths and 48 injuries. He said the people killed or injured were not dreaded criminals, however, the modus operandi of the police has been the same in all the encounters. He further argued that the investigation into the fake encounters is not being done according to the law.
It has been submitted that though the petitioner has received several copies of the FIRs, the same has not been registered in terms of the requirements of the decision of the Supreme Court in People’s Union for Civil Liberties and another Vs. State of Maharashtra and others (Criminal Appeal No.1255 of 1999 and other analogous matters) decided on 18.07.2019.
In an affidavit before the High Court on February 7, the state home and political department additional secretary said that as per the directions of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the 6-monthly “return” is being regularly submitted. The state government also claimed that due process of law and all guidelines issued by the NHRC are being followed in all cases of police encounters that have taken place in Assam since May last year.
In the affidavit, the state government informed the court that 28 people have been killed and 73 were injured in police action from May 10 last year, when Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assumed charge, till January 28 this year.