this is a very unfortunate judgement. we all know how police conducts inquiry into their own misdeeds and how mutual protection based on brotherhood works. most of the inquires conducted by police or the executive magistrate are alleged to be sham. after all they conducted the inquiry into ishrad jahan case and it was judicial inquiry that pointed to holes in police theory. one must underline that when a precious life is lost , those who are responsible of that loss must come under necessary harassment so that there is a deterrence against killing people at will under state protection.
are we not sanctioning a police state while not even putting an institution with so low credibility , above any meaningful questioning by another state institution ??? pushkar raj (pucl) On 30/10/2009, manisha sethi <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > *Supreme Court Judgement on Batla House ‘Encounter’ will set a dangerous > precedent* > > > > Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association terms the judgement given by a bench > of Supreme Court judges dismissing the plea for ordering a judicial enquiry > in Batla House encounter case as highly unfortunate. The bench’s main > argument—that, any enquiry would cause “unnecessary harassment of the > police” and “adversely affect the morale of the police”—is astoundingly > irrelevant to the merit of the case. One fails to understand how an enquiry > would amount to harassment of the police as hundreds, if not thousands, of > enquiries are in progress against the police at any given moment. The judges > when responding to the petitioner’s argument that large sections of society > have doubts on the role of the police said: “Criminals are criminals. Don’t > identify them with any section of the society.” How come the honourable > judges have already made up their minds about the accused when they have > been not subjected to any trial or fair enquiry—does not labelling them > “criminals” in the absence of any enquiry militate against the very basic > tenets of law and principles of natural justice? > > > > Moreover, this judgement will have momentous implications as it will be > ceaselessly cited and applied to a variety of cases where an enquiry against > the police is pending or being demanded. In the long run, this judgement > could contribute to the subversion of crucial institutions and mechanisms > evolved for the safeguarding of democratic rights. It raises some very > serious questions: > > - How does constituting an enquiry into a widely suspected > encounter be regarded as an “unnecessary harassment”? Does it not imply that > flouting of NHRC guidelines on encounter killings which demands that a > magisterial enquiry be held after each encounter killing have received the > sanction of the SC? > > - Does it mean that enquiry into Ishrat Jahan and Sohrabuddin fake > encounter cases should not have been ordered since they would amount to > “adversely affecting morale of the police.”? Does it mean that enquiry into > Ranbir encounter case in Dehradun in which several policemen have been > implicated is unnecessary? If the Supreme Court had its way many of similar > potential miscarriages of justice would have never come to light. > > > > Such a judgement literally amounts to giving the police a licence to kill > anyone anywhere without fear of ever being questioned. JTSA reiterates its > commitment to deepen the struggle for judicial probe into the Batla House > ‘encounter’ and against the culture of extra judicial killings. > > > > Sd/- > > Manisha Sethi (President, JTSA) 9811625577 > > Adeel Mehdi (Gen. Secy, JTSA) 9990923027. > > > > > > > > > -- Pushkar Raj General Secretary, PUCL Office: 270A, Patpar Ganj, , Mayur Vihar-I, Delhi-110091 ph. 22750014 098106-56100 www.pucl.org --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
