Extra-Judicial Killings Are On Rise; Constitution Doesn't Approve Such Short-Cut Methods: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan

Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has expressed concern over the rise in extra-judicial killings and incidents of police violence in the country, questioning the manner in which accused persons are sometimes taken into police custody and killed in purported encounters or other incidents.

Speaking at the “Discourse on Ethics in Criminal Litigation, Trial by Media & Admissibility of Statements”, organised by the Centre for Discourse on Criminal and Constitutional Jurisprudence, at New Delhi on Friday, Justice Bhuyan said he had initially believed that custodial violence was a thing of the past but was forced to reconsider that view.

"I thought custodial violence was a thing of the past. But I was forced to reconsider it. Extra-judicial killings are on the rise in India," he said.

Justice Bhuyan also questioned the practice of taking accused persons out at unusual hours for purposes such as crime-scene reconstruction when there is no apparent urgency to do so.

"Why do you have to take an accused in police custody to recreate a crime scene at 3 o'clock in the morning? Could you not have waited till sunrise? What is the grave urgency?" he asked.

The judge referred to different explanations sometimes offered by the police following the death of an accused in custody or during such exercises. These, he said, could include claims that the accused attempted to snatch a rifle, that a scuffle took place during which firing occurred, or that the accused was hit by a speeding truck.

He also referred to a case where an accused was said to have been depressed and had allegedly jumped into a well.

Justice Bhuyan said such incidents could lead people to question whether "shortcut methods" were being adopted to cover shortcomings in investigation, particularly where investigators were aware of the likely outcome of a criminal trial.

"Right thinking people are forced to think that is it a way to cover up the lacuna in investigation, knowing fully well the outcome of trial, these shortcut methods are adopted," he said.

He emphasised that such practices were inconsistent with India's constitutional framework. "Our constitutional system does not approve of these type of situations," Justice Bhuyan said.

The judge also raised concerns over instances where young IPS officers were seen personally attacking demonstrators. In this context, he recalled the earlier comments made by him at another event regarding the police excesses on protesters.

"But you see young IPS officers personally attacking demonstrators with so much anger on their face. What for? You are a professional police officer, why do you need to get so agitated? Beating up a demonstrator with bare hands," Justice Bhuyan said.

He said such conduct raises serious concerns about what could happen to an accused person in police custody, particularly during the night.

"One shudders to think what would happen if such a police officer gets custody at night. Can you imagine what would happen to an accused in police custody at night? Many of us are quite wary of sending people to police custody, not for nothing," he remarked.

Recently, the Allahabad High Court passed a series of orders questioning the stereotypical narratives furnished by the UP Police for encounter killings.

The video of the event can be viewed here.

How Allahabad High Court Has Been Exposing UP Police's Encounter Narratives