Ananya Saikia
(ananyasaikia3361@gmail.com)
After the Nagaon Police allegedly shot a student leader in Nagaon's Kachalukhua on the plea of suspicion there has been a huge uproar regarding the credibility of encounters. It is often seen that whenever extrajudicial killings are encouraged by politicians in power and the public keep themselves mum or express happiness then such behaviours encourage the police personnel to take the law into their hands and to use their power indiscriminately without following due procedure of law.
Our country runs on the principle of the 'Rule of Law'. All other institutions of our country are also running on this principle. Because of this strength provided by our Constitution, the people hailing from the ordinary strata of the society can contest in the election and can become MPs and MLAs. The same Constitution speaks about the 'Rule of Law'. The 'Rule of Law' says that no one can be punished without following the due process of law. It means that an accused must be presented before the court. The court will decide whether the person is guilty or not.
The encounter culture is detrimental to the 'Rule of Law'. The main legal philosophy on which the 'Rule of Law' is based is 'Audi Alteram Partem'. It means that nobody should be punished without being heard. An accused person should get a chance to defend himself before the court of law. Otherwise, the arbitrary pick-and-choose policy would prevail. The supreme law of the land of a country i.e. the Indian Constitution guarantees the right against arbitrary arrest in Article 14 and the right to life and liberty in Article 12. The encounter culture is against the criminal jurisprudence and the concept of liberty. In all judicial and administrative procedures and actions the principle of 'Audi Alteram Partem' must be followed.
Encounter is a barbaric notion and it is an outcome of a dictatorial mindset. The 'Rule of Law' and the principle of 'Audi Alteram Partem' is a gift of civilization to human society.
The encounters are generally done on the pretext of self-defence. It is known to all that police officers have the right to injure or kill any criminal for the sole purpose of self-defence if there are valid reasons. But the police are not allowed to shoot any person with a mala fide or dishonest motive or to serve the personal interest. So, in all encounter cases, the veil should be lifted by the judiciary to find out whether there is any mala fide intention behind any shootout.
Any legislature who swears in the name of God to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution should not encourage unlawful acts like encounters that the Constitution does not allow. Any kind of encouragement for extra-judicial killing is tantamount to an assault on the Constitution. The government, instead of encouraging encounters, should take steps for speedy trials of criminal cases so that criminals can be punished by following the due procedure of law. When there will be speedy trials and criminals be published within a reasonable period of time, the rate of the crimes will be decreased. Instead of taking this positive step when the government encourages encounters it brings nothing but creates chaos in society. A government should always encourage the police force to be people-friendly and strictly abide by the Rule of Law. As the great philosopher, Cicero rightly said, "We are in bondage to the law in order that we may be free".
In our country, it is often seen that many political parties offer tickets to criminals. In many cases, the police are being influenced by these criminals. As a result, thereof many awkward incidents happen. So, barbaric romanticism of providing instant justice by following or adopting the pick-and-choose policy is contrary to the liberty and equality principles enshrined in the Constitution of India. Everyone should vociferously criticize the matter of extrajudicial killing or the hide-and-seek shootout game. The public must understand that there is a rule of law and procedure. If people begin encouraging fake encounters, the instances of extra-judicial killings are bound to rise in the coming years; it is, therefore, essential that strict actions are taken against such police officials. If the police shoot someone today and get encouragement then they can also target anyone tomorrow.