Author: Debakanta Mohanty, Student at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Co-Author: Debashree Tripaty, Student at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
INTRODUCTION
In many Bollywood movies we have seen plenty of scenes where the police take the matters into their own hands and shoot the bad guys without a trial. This is called ‘ENCOUNTER KILLINGS’. Encounter killings are when the police force or security forces kills the suspected criminals, usually claiming that it was in self-defence. The Bollywood movies have played a huge role in shaping the public perception on Encounters killings. The hero cop taking down the bad guys with his bare hands and the movies make encounter killings seem like a necessary and heroic act. But in reality, they are not legal and against our constitution. It is unfortunate that one could see a lot of justification about the encounter killings. These extra judicial killings carried out by the police and other law enforcement agencies have been a source of intense scrutiny, debate and controversies sparking some serious concerns about the rule od law, human rights, and accountability. In fact, the issue of encounter killings has been so contentious that the highest court in the land i.e., the Supreme Court of India had to step in and issue guidelines and rulings to ensure that the fundamental rights of Indian citizens are protected. Well even in the case of Mohd. Ajmal Amir Kasab, who was a cold-blooded terrorist was given a fair trial. That is our Judicial System.
The increasing number of extrajudicial killings in India is atrocious. The major form is the encounters by police, military, or other security forces. Extrajudicial killings manifest outlawed force through which the person is executed illegally. It is a gross human rights violation and reflection of the apathetic criminal justice system in India. This paper aims to analyse how police forces violates the provisions mentioned under Indian Penal Code [IPC] and other statutory acts where killings is justified and excused and also aims to give an answer if encounters really is a fastest and effective solutions to eliminate dreaded criminals and their gang members which gives justice to the society.
