In a recent development, Advocate Vishal Tiwari, who filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court, has countered the Uttar Pradesh State’s status report on police encounter killings. Tiwari expressed concerns, stating,
“Encounter killings are often celebrated as achievements by state police officials, further encouraging arbitrary and unconstitutional actions.”
He pointed out that such celebrations are evident in the out-of-turn promotions and gallantry awards given to officers involved in these incidents.
The State had previously defended the police encounters as
“legitimate exercises in self-defence.”
However, Tiwari argued against this stance, emphasizing that the police, being a powerful entity, should not resort to excessive or retaliatory force, especially when the opposing party is weaker. He elaborated,
“Police being a mighty force cannot always resort to the theory of self-defence especially when the opposite party is a minor group with fewer weapons. If the police fire the victim when there is a chance to overpower them without killing, it is retaliation. When the State uses such excessive or retaliatory force leading to death, it is referred to as an extra-judicial killing or an extrajudicial execution.”
Tiwari further accused the State of not being transparent and misleading the Court. He highlighted discrepancies in the State’s report, noting that while his writ petition mentioned 183 encounter incidents, the State’s report covered only seven. He remarked,
“The respondents have deliberately not given any Status Report or reply to the 183 encounter killings. Many of these encounters might have been fake and no proper compliance of the Guidelines laid down by this Hon Supreme Court have been made.”
The petitioner also drew attention to international concerns, citing that in January 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Commission expressed alarm over the encounter killings in Uttar Pradesh.
A significant part of the controversy surrounds the death of Atiq Ahmed. Tiwari raised concerns about the independence of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the deaths of Atiq and Ashraf. He emphasized a recurring pattern in these encounters, where police claim to have received tips from informers, leading to confrontations resulting in lethal force.
The Supreme Court’s position on encounter killings was quoted from the case Om Prakash and Ors. v. State of Jharkhand (2012) 12 SCC 72, which explicitly stated that such killings are unjustified and equate to
“state-sponsored terrorism.”
The matter is set to be heard by a bench led by Justice S Ravindra Bhat. Alongside Tiwari’s PIL, the bench will also consider a petition by Atiq Ahmed’s sister, Aisha Noori, seeking a court-monitored probe into the deaths of her brothers in April 2023.
