SC says 171 encounters in Assam 'very serious'

THE Supreme Court on Tuesday described the matter concerning 171 police encounters in Assam from May 2021 to August 2022 as “very serious”, noting that such petitions “could not be brushed aside as premature.”

- SUCHITRA KALYAN MOHANTY @ New Delhi

A two-judge bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan sought the details from the Assam govt, including the probe conducted into the police encounters in the state from May 2021 to August 2022 in the state.

“It is a very, very serious issue. 171 incidents are alarming,” a concerned apex court observed strongly on Tuesday.

The bench was hearing an appeal filed by petitioner Arif Md Yeasin Jwadder, through his lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, challenging a January 2023 order of the Gauhati High Court dismissing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) raising the issue concerning these encounters by Assam Police.

During the hearing, Bhushan alleged that the state police was not complying with the guidelines issued by the apex court in its 2014 judgment on the procedure to be followed in probing police encounter cases. He also said that a large number of encounters had taken place in Assam.