Life imprisonment for 43 policemen in 1991 Pilibhit encounter case
Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench sentenced 43 police officers to life imprisonment in a three-decade-old fake encounter case. The division bench of Justices Saroj Yadav and Ramesh Sinha enunciated judgment on the 1991 July 12 Pilibhit encounter case, when police officers shot and killed Sikh pilgrims over the suspicion of them being part of the Khalistan Liberation Front.
Why does this story matter?
Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel stopped a bus carrying Sikhs on pilgrimage on July 12, 1991, in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit. They separated ten male pilgrims, including a kid, from the women passengers and shot them in three separate encounters in the Pooranpur, Niuria, and Bilsanda areas of the district on the night of July 12-13. However, the child's whereabouts are still unknown.
Know about Allahabad HC's order
The High Court convicted the accused under the Indian Penal Code's (IPC) Section 304 (Part 1), sentenced them to seven years of imprisonment, and fined them Rs. 10,000 each. After the Supreme Court orders on May 15, 1992, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) started investigating the matter. In 2016, the lower court gave life imprisonment to all 57 officers based on CBI chargesheet.
10 accused died, 12 granted bail during CBI probe
Notably, ten accused in the fake encounter case died during the CBI probe. All the convicts had filed individual appeals in the high court, where they challenged the order by the special CBI court. On the grounds of serious medical issues and old age, the high court had also granted bail to 12 other accused.
Here's what the division bench stated
"The conviction and sentence of the appellants (43 PAC personnel) under sections 302/120-B, 364/120-B, 365/120-B, 218/120-B, 117/120-B of the IPC by means of the impugned judgment and order dated April 4, 2016, passed by the trial court are hereby set-aside," the bench said.
'It's not the duty of police officers to kill accused'
"This court convicts the appellants under section 304 (Part 1) and sentences them to seven years rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10,000 (each)," it said. The court added: "It is not the duty of the police officers to kill the accused merely because he/she is a dreaded criminal. Undoubtedly, the police must arrest the accused and put them up for trial."
Cops exceeded their authority: Court
The bench also highlighted that the policemen exceeded their authority under the law and caused the death of ten Sikhs by doing something they thought was necessary and lawful. "We are of the opinion that the case of appellants (cops) would be covered by Exception 3 to Section 300 of the IPC," the court added.
