The top court granted liberty to the AHRC to initiate further investigations into the allegations of fake encounters and asked the Assam government to extend cooperation and remove any institutional barriers in the inquiry process.It asked the AHRC to safeguard the privacy of the complainants and to approach the matter with sensitivity.It directed the Assam State Legal Services Authority to provide legal aid to the kin of victims of alleged fake encounters.On February 25, the top court had reserved its verdict on the plea alleging fake police encounters in Assam and non-adherence to the 2014 guidelines.The Assam government has told the top court that the 2014 guidelines for investigating police encounters were duly followed in the state and that any unnecessary targeting of security forces was demoralising.The Assam government had said the Supreme Court’s guidelines for the investigation of police encounters in the 2014 case of PUCL v.Maharashtra were being “followed to the hilt” and questioned the bonafide of the petitioner Arif Md Yeasin Jwadder.On February 4, the top court said it couldn’t get into the merit of the alleged 171 police encounters but would only see whether its guidelines on such extra-judicial killings were duly followed.The petitioner has challenged a January 2023 order of the Gauhati High Court, which dismissed a PIL over the encounters by Assam Police.In its order, the high court referred to an affidavit of the Assam government stating that 171 incidents took place between May 2021 and August 2022 in which 56 people died, including four in custody, and 145 were injured.On October 22, last year, the top court termed the situation “very serious” and sought details, including on the probe conducted in these matters.In July 2023, it sought responses from the Assam government and others on the plea challenging the high court order.The petitioner claimed before the high court that over 80 “fake encounters” were conducted by Assam Police from May 2021 till the filing of the writ petition, resulting in 28 deaths.
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