The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has held 43 policemen guilty under IPC 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) in the 1991 an alleged encounter of 10 Sikhs by calling them terrorists of the Khalistan Liberation Front.
The High Court sentenced all the culprits to 7 years of rigorous imprisonment under IPC 304 with a fine of Rs 10,000.
The high court in its order said
“No doubt, appellants exceeded the powers given to them by law, and they caused the death of the deceased by doing an act which they, in good faith, believed to be lawful and necessary for the due discharge of their duty. In such circumstances, the offence that was committed by the appellants, was culpable homicide not amounting to murder punishable under Section 304 of I.P.C,” the court added
On 12-13 July 1991, three incidents at three different places ,Neoria, Bilsanda, and Puranpur, in District Pilibhit took place between the alleged Sikh terrorists and the police of district Pilibhit, in which ten alleged militants were killed.
In this regard, cumulatively 13 FIRs were lodged in police station Neoria, Bilsanda and Puranpur of district Pilibhit.
In 1991, ten Sikhs were killed by policemen in an alleged encounter by calling them terrorists of the Khalistan Liberation Front.
On April 4, 2016 The trial court, found them guilty of murder, had sentenced them to life imprisonment.
A lawyer had filed a public interest litigation regarding the matter in the Supreme Court. After the hearing, the Supreme Court handed over the investigation of the case to the CBI on 15 May 1992. After investigation of the case, the CBI had filed a charge sheet against 57 police personnel on the basis of evidence. The court had convicted 47 in the case.
