New Delhi: The Supreme Court on today dismissed a plea by the Gujarat government to order probe into all fake encounters that had taken place in all states over the past 10 years.
A bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai rejected the Narendra Modi government’s demand to constitute a common special task force (STF) for investigating the alleged fake encounters across the country.
The Gujarat government of Chief Minister Narendra Modi has itself been facing legal scrutiny over several alleged fake encounters that have taken place in the state. These include cases of Ishrat Jahan and Sohrabuddin Sheikh.
Ishrat Jahan, a 19-year-old college student, was gunned down on June 15, 2004 along with three men by a police and intelligence squad near Ahmedabad city in Gujarat.
While rejecting the petition, the apex court observed that it was not possible under the constitutional provisions. It also said that many other states, including the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh, opposed the Gujarat demand.
The Supreme Court had on April 12 sought the stands of the Centre and all state governments on the Gujarat government’s plea for independent probe. The Gujarat government had alleged that some vested interest groups were selectively targeting its police force over the encounter deaths.
Bureau Report
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