SC asks AHRC to probe Assam 'fake encounters'

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to conduct an independent and expeditious probe into 171 alleged fake police encounters in the state that resulted in 56 deaths and 145 injuries between May 2021 and August 2022.

- Abraham Thomas

NEW DELHI:

A bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh reinstated complaints before the AHRC that had been stalled since January 2022, emphasising "fair and impartial inquiry" was essential to ensure justice for victims and uphold the rule of law.

The court's intervention came after the Gauhati high court dismissed a petition seeking CBI probe in January 2023. The AHRC had earlier refused to examine the complaints citing the pending high court hearing.

Lawyer Arif Mohammad Yeasin Jwadder filed the petition alleging that Assam police violated Supreme Court guidelines established in the 2014 People's Union for Civil Liberties v State of Maharashtra case. The PUCL judgment mandated magisterial inquiries following encounter deaths, FIR registration, forensic examination of weapons.

The Assam government acknowledged before the high court that 171 police encounters occurred during the specified period, resulting in 56 deaths—including four custodial deaths—and 145 injuries.