Home Case Index All Cases Indian Laws Indian Laws + SC Indian Laws - 2011 (5) TMI SC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2011 (5) TMI 1065 - SC - Indian LawsChallenging the order of H.C for cancelling bail order passes by Session Court - Fake Police Encounter or not - HELD THAT:- this is a very serious case and cannot be treated like an ordinary case. The accused who are policemen are supposed to uphold the law, but the allegation against them is that they functioned as contract killers. Their version that deceased Ramnarayan Gupta was shot in a police encounter has been found to be false during the investigation. It is true that we are not deciding the case finally as that will be done by the trial court where the case is pending, but we can certainly examine the material on record in deciding whether there is a prima facie case against the accused which disentitles them to bail. The appeals are dismissed, but it is made clear that the trial court will decide the criminal case against the appellants uninfluenced by any observations made in this judgment, or in the impugned judgment of the High Court. We are of the view that in cases where a fake encounter is proved against policemen in a trial, they must be given death sentence, treating it as the rarest of rare cases. Fake ‘encounters’ are nothing but cold blooded, brutal murder by persons who are supposed to uphold the law. In our opinion if crimes are committed by ordinary people, ordinary punishment should be given, but if the offence is committed by policemen much harsher punishment should be given to them because they do an act totally contrary to their duties. The ‘encounter’ philosophy is a criminal philosophy, and all policemen must know this. Trigger happy policemen who think they can kill people in the name of ‘encounter’ and get away with it should know that the gallows await them. In the Shanti Parva of Mahabharat Vol. 1 it is stated:- “Raja chen-na bhavellokey prithivyaam dandadharakah Shuley matsyanivapakshyan durbalaan balvattaraah” - This shloka means that when the King carrying the rod of punishment does not protect the earth then the strong persons destroy the weaker ones, just like in water the big fish eat the small fish. In the Shantiparva of Mahabharata Bheesma Pitamah tells Yudhishthir that there is nothing worse in the world than lawlessness, for in a state of Matsyayaya, nobody, not even the evil doers are safe, because even the evil doers will sooner or later be swallowed up by other evil doers.
|