Gujarat Fake Encounters: ‘Why Selective Public Interest’, State Govt tells SC

The Gujarat government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the petitioners, who have sought an investigation into the alleged fake encounters in the state from 2002 to 2006, must clarify the reasons for their “selective public interest” in raising the issue.

A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta heard two separate pleas filed in 2007 by senior journalist BG Verghese, and noted lyricist Javed Akhtar and Shabnam Hashmi, seeking a probe into the alleged fake encounters. Verghese passed away in 2014.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the state, conveyed to the bench that encounters have occurred in other states as well. “They (petitioners) say we want an investigation of a few encounters during a particular period in the state of Gujarat. Why this selective public interest? They have to answer that,” he stated.

“The petitioners will have to satisfy the court about their selective public interest,” Mehta emphasized.

The apex court had previously appointed a monitoring authority led by former top court judge Justice H S Bedi, which investigated 17 alleged fake encounter cases in Gujarat from 2002 to 2006. The committee, submitting its report in a sealed cover in 2019, recommended the prosecution of police officials in three out of the 17 cases it probed. In its final report filed in the apex court, the committee concluded that three individuals were prima facie killed in fake encounters by the Gujarat Police.

During the hearing, advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners, noted that the committee report had already been presented before the court. “All that is needed to be done is to prosecute those persons who have been identified in the report,” he stated, adding that the panel has come to a prima facie conclusion in three cases.

“The matter is required to be heard,” the bench observed, scheduling the pleas for a hearing after two weeks. The Gujarat government had previously expressed reservations about the locus standi of the petitioners.

In the final report filed in the apex court, the Justice Bedi committee stated that three persons—Sameer Khan, Kasam Jafar, and Haji Ismail—were prima facie killed in fake encounters by the police. The committee indicted a total of nine police officials, including three inspector rank officers. However, it did not recommend the prosecution of any IPS officer.

On January 9, 2019, a bench headed by then Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi rejected the Gujarat government’s plea to maintain confidentiality of the final report of the committee and ordered that it be given to the petitioners. The panel also addressed 14 other cases related to alleged fake encounter killings.