Today, Supreme Court issued strict guidelines for encounters done by police in order to prevent fake encounter killings. Laying down directives to be followed by police officers after encounters, the Supreme Court gave directions to prevent killing of the innocent.
Following guidelines have been given by the Supreme Court:
- In case of encounter resulting in death, the police must immediately lodge an FIR and furnish a copy to the court having jurisdiction over the area.
- In all cases of encounter deaths there shall be mandatory registration of FIRs and investigation by CID or any other independent agency.
- The encounters must be probed by state CID or separate police stations.
- An FIR or police complaint must be filed in every encounter killing case.
- There should be a magisterial inquiry in case of death.
- The encounters must be recorded in electronic or written form.
- The policeman will record tip-offs given to them about the criminals that result in encounter.
- The policeman involved in encounter shall surrender arms, weapons and ammunition after the encounter.
- No promotion or gallantry awards should be awarded by the government to any officer till the investigations of genuine encounter are established.
- The court said that the magisterial inquiry should be completed expeditiously.
- If a police officer is found guilty of involvement in a fake encounter, he should be proceeded against legally and departmentally.
- Status report of the probe should be submitted every six months to the human rights body of the state and NGRC by the police probing the encounter killing.
- All such investigations into the encounter deaths would be carried out by a SP rank officer from a different police district.
