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A Petition has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking independent inquiry through CBI or NIA, into the latest killings that happened in Chitrakoot Jail, Uttar Pradesh.

AOR Anoop Prakash Awasthi has drawn and filed the said petition to seek directions for investigation against (i) Killings of 3 under trial prisoners that happened in Chitrakoot jail, UP (ii) All Extra Judicial Killing that happened after 18.03.2017, with special reference to killings that took place under direct orders of the State CM, Shri Yogi Adityanath.

“Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath has openly promoted the culture of encounters/extra judicial killings and after becoming the CM in 2017, has gone on record to say Police in UP will now respond to a bullet with a bullet. Unlike the previous government, I have given full authority to the force to deal with criminals in the most appropriate way possible and reportedly announced in the UP State Assembly apradhiyon ka thok diya jayega meaning thereby that criminals will be killed completely forgetting the enshrined ideal of Separation of Power intertwined in the basic structure of our Constitution and Fundamental Right To Life under Article 21”, the plea states.

Reliance has been placed on a series of events that has taken place since 18.03.2017, endorsing and allegedly promoting the practice of Extra Judicial Killings in the State. News reports from National Herald, CNN, NDTV and TV-9 has been quoted in this respect.

Grounds inter-alia preferred by the Petitioner:

• Rule of Law is a fundamental principle of any democratic society.
• Policy of encounters cannot be a guiding policy for any state machinery.
• Life can be taken only by a procedure established by law as guaranteed by Article 2l of the Constitution of India and any deviation from it, is essentially a crime altogether.
• In the matter of Om Prakash and Ors. v. State of Jharkhand, (2012) 12 SCC 72, it was held, “It is not the duty of the police officers to kill the accused merely because he is a dreaded criminal. Undoubtedly, the police have to arrest the accused and put them up for trial. This court has repeatedly admonished trigger happy police personnel, who liquidate criminals and project the incident as an encounter. Such killings must be deprecated. They are not recognized as legal by our criminal Justice administration system. They amount to State sponsored terrorism.”
• Executing officers are personally responsible for their action and cannot take refuse under the premise of obeying the command of the superior.