Petition alleging UP encounter killings needs 'serious consideration,' says SC
The Supreme Court today agreed to examine in detail a plea seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into incidents of alleged police encounters and killings in Uttar Pradesh. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Ashok Bhushan and S K Kaul perused the material on record, and said issues raised in the petition required "serious consideration."
State advocate claims UP administration following all norms, procedures
The petition was filed by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, however, claimed all norms and procedures were followed by the state administration. Earlier, the apex court had sought response from the Uttar Pradesh government on the PIL filed by the NGO, alleging that there were about 1,100 encounters in 2017.
In 2017, encounters killed 49, injured 370 people in UP
The encounters resulted in 49 deaths and left 370 injured. The NGO, in its plea, referred to news reports quoting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya and ADG (law and order) Anand Kumar justifying encounter killings of criminals in the state.
Plea demands probe by independent agency, Feb-12 next hearing date
It sought a probe into the encounters by an independent agency -- the CBI or a SIT comprising police officers of "integrity and who have not served in the state of Uttar Pradesh". Quoting the figure provided by the state to the NHRC, it said 45 persons died between January 1, 2017 till March 31, 2018. The next date of hearing is February 12.
