Fake encounter cops must face murder charges - SC

Expressing concern over the large number of fake encounter cases reported in the last two decades, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that trigger-happy cops must not only face dismissal but also murder charges.
While dealing with a PIL by People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) seeking laying down of guidelines to prevent fake encounters, the remark of the bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma was fuelled by the figures provided by National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).



NHRC counsel Sanjay Parikh said between 1993 and March 2010 the apex human rights body had received 1,560 complaints alleging fake encounters by police and paramilitary forces. Of these, the NHRC had found 856 complaints genuine, he said. The bench said: “We must make the guidelines foolproof so that not only he (accused cop) loses his job but even faces murder charge”. When PUCL counsel Prashant Bhushan argued that in the past cops who had killed innocent people had actually escaped the law, the bench said, “Unfortunately, we must say we agree with you”.
The court also went through a draft proposal of guidelines submitted by the petitioner which incorporated suggestions given by NHRC and a Bombay High Court decision, which had led to filing of the appeal by the NGO in SC.
The suggestions included mandatory registration of FIR against police officials followed by a magisterial inquiry and immediate post-mortem of the deceased preferably at a government hospital.