LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court on Thursday convicted 43 police personnel for the fake encounter of 10 Sikh men in Pilibhit in 1991.
According to the prosecution, the policemen waved down a luxury bus carrying Sikh pilgrims. They forced 10 passengers to get off the bus before dividing them into two groups, taking them to a forest and killing them in cold blood. Police then claimed that they were 'Khalistani terrorists.'
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which investigated the case on the directions of the Supreme Court had concluded that the motive behind the killings was to earn awards and recognition for killing "terrorists."
A Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court comprising Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Saroj Yadav converted the conviction of 43 cops from Section 302 of IPC (murder) to 304 Part 1 of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide) in their 179-page order.
"It is not the duty of the police officers to kill the accused merely because he or she was a dreaded criminal. Undoubtedly, the police have to arrest the accused and put them up for a trial," the court observed.
The court was dealing with the appeal filed by the 43 cops challenging the order passed by the Special Judge/ Additional Judge of Lucknow court of CBI in April 2016. The CBI court had convicted them under Sections 302, 120B (criminal conspiracy), 364 (kidnapping for ransom), 365 (kidnapping for wrongful confinement), 218 (Public servant framing incorrect record), 117 (Abetting commission of offence by the public) of the Indian Penal Code.
The Allahabad High Court judges, while passing the conviction order, observed that the appellants exceeded the powers given to them by law by virtue of being police personnel and that they caused death of victims by committing an act, in good faith, considering it lawful and necessary for due discharge of their duty.
The court also noted that the case of appellants would be covered by Exception 3 to Section 300 of IPC which provides that culpable homicide was not murder, if the offender, in the capacity of a public servant or was aiding a public servant acting for the advancement of public justice, exceeded powers given to him/her by law and caused death by doing an act which he/she thought was lawful and necessary for the discharge of duty as a public servant with no ill-will towards the victim.
The prosecution case is that on July 12-13, 1991, the police personnel intercepted a bus carrying passengers on the belief that hardcore terrorists affiliated with Khalistan Liberation Front were travelling in the bus. The cops were allegedly acting on the basis of intelligence inputs. They took around 10-12 Sikh youths down from the bus and escorted them to the police vehicle. Later on, they killed all the youths at three different places to portray it as an encounter.
While delivering the order, the court reprimanded the prosecution saying it failed to prove that the cops had kidnapped or abducted 10-11 Sikhs and divided them into three groups to kill them at three different places under a criminal conspiracy with common intention.
However, the High Court bench came to the conclusion leading to the conviction of the errant cops on the basis of evidence on record. The court concluded that though there was no ill will between the appellants and the deceased, the appellants were public servants and their objective was the advancement of public justice. However, they exceeded the powers given to them by the law thus exposing themselves to face the rigours of the law.