The Meghalayan Bureau
Guwahati:
The Gauhati High Court, on January 25, allowed the Assam government more time to file an affidavit on the alleged fake police encounters since May 2021. The decision came after the government failed to file a detailed affidavit on the cases as sought by the court on January 11. The court also fixed February 8 as the next date of hearing of the case.
On January 11, the High Court had directed the Assam government to file a detailed report to be filed by the secretary (home) or additional secretary (home) in connection with the case within two weeks.
Lawyer Paras Nath Singh, who appeared on behalf of the petitioner, sought an independent probe into the alleged fake encounters in the state.
Advocate General, Devajit Lon Saikia, appearing for the state government, sought 10 more days to file the affidavit.
Lawyer and activist Arif Jwadder, who had filed the PIL (No. 86/2021), mentioned that 80 such incidents had taken place in the state since May 2021 resulting in 28 deaths.
Jwadder has 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 court.
The petitioner 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.
Besides the state government, Assam police, the department of law and justice, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) had been named as respondents in the petition.
In July last year, Jwadder had filed a complaint against such incidents with the NHRC following which the rights body had sought a report from the Assam Police in September. In November, NHRC transferred the case to the (AHRC).