Questioning the Uttar Pradesh government, a bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde said that it is “appalled” by the fact that a person like Vikas Dubey got bail despite so many criminal cases against him. “This shows the failure of the system and the person, who should have been behind the bars, got bail,” it said. The court directed the UP government to reconstitute the present committee formed to probe Vikas Dubey encounter, which is headed by a retired HC judge.
The Uttar Pradesh government will have to produce a draft notification containing names of the retired SC judge and ex-DGP who will be a part of the new committee which will be approved by the top court. The state government has agreed to produce the draft notification on Wednesday.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, said: “The investigation is going on in accordance with law. The person who was killed in an encounter had already shown his capability to shoot at police just a few days back before he died. He was on parole and when police tried to investigate an FIR, shots were fired by him.” The CJI observed: “There is a difference in who was killed here and in the Hyderabad case where the rapists did not have any arms. But you as a state government, you are responsible to maintain the rule of law.”
Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appearing for UP’s Director General of Police, argued, “This matter is qualitatively different from Telangana encounters. Even policemen have fundamental rights. Can police be accused of excessive force when it is engaged in a live encounter with a dreaded criminal?”
The top court has heard a batch of petitions questioning the encounter of Vikas Dubey and his aides by UP Police after eight of their colleagues were killed by gangsters on 3 July.