Assam Fake Encounter: Police cannot go outside the law under any circumstances

Why have we seen so many police encounters in Assam recently? Do they have any design? I think. Since coming to power, the incumbent Chief Minister has held several rounds of meetings with various groups of police officers. In one of these meetings, at the beginning of his tenure, the Chief Minister even asked the police to take direct action.

The extraordinary increase in the number of police encounters in the state seems to have the open support of the government. There is also a sense among a section of the people that our justice system is so cumbersome and long that it has failed to curb criminal activity. Instead, if the police take immediate action, it will have a negative impact on them

First things first. The police cannot be the law for themselves. No one can make a law for himself. There is no arrangement for this. Everything must be done following the procedure established by law. But there is a tendency in all unfair administrations to encourage extra-judicial activities. Police encounter is one of them. We have seen it in our own country. But what does the Indian Supreme Court say about this?

The Supreme Court is very clear on this. In this regard, we can cite an article by Mire Emmanuel published on Bar & Bench on December 6, 2019. Talking about an incident of police clash, he mentioned the decision of the division bench of the Supreme Court in the 2014 case of PUCL v. State of Maharashtra.

In his article, he mentioned: “In a detailed order issued on September 23, 2014, a bench of the then Chief Justice RM Lodha and Justice RF Nariman first pointed out that under Article 21 The right to life is available to everyone and even the state has no right to violate this right.

Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees the right to live with human dignity. Any violation of human rights is taken seriously by this court as the right to life is the most precious right provided by Article 21 of the Constitution. Article 21 guarantees are available to everyone and even the state has no right to infringe on this right. Cannot be violated, except in accordance with established procedures. Article 21 of the law guarantees the personal freedom of every individual in the country, including the right to live with human dignity.

The bench clarified why it was necessary for the police to conduct an independent inquiry into the encounter’s deaths.

“There is a need for an independent investigation into the killings in police encounters. Killings in police encounters affect the rule of law and the reputation of the criminal justice system.

Although the bench made it clear that it was aware of the difficult and delicate task that would be expected of the police in dealing with crime, it stressed that the perpetrators should also be brought to justice in accordance with the rule of law. Should be brought in