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| Memorandum on the need for enquiry in to the encounter |
17th January 2005
To,
Shri. N. Dharam Singh
Honorable Chief Minister
Government of Karnataka
Vidhana Soudha,
Bangalore – 560 001.
Dear Sir,
Sub: Memorandum on the need for enquiry in to the encounter deaths of Veerappan and his associates before awards are distributed
On the night of 18 October 2004, the infamous outlaw Veerapan and three of his associates were killed by members of the Joint Special Task Force (STF), allegedly as they attempted to take the accused into custody. Irregularities in the STF accounts of the incident, alongside an eleven-year history of systematic abuses of police authority, have since cast deep suspicion upon the facts surrounding the alleged “encounter.” Together, they suggest a grave abuse of power—a deliberate and premeditated extrajudicial killing that caps a decade-long record of dispensing with the rule of law. The Divisional Magistrate and Revenue Divisional Officer, Dharmapuri, conducted a magisterial enquiry at the Revenue Divisional Office, Dharmapuri, on November 1 and 2 into the killing of Veerappan, and the report is awaited.
The day after the incident, in direct violation of the guidelines set out by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) regarding encounter deaths, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced rewards for the 752 STF officers involved in Veerapan’s pursuit and capture. On 21 October 2004, People’s Watch Tamil Nadu filed a formal complaint with the NHRC regarding the 18 October encounter. People’s Watch registered the complaint when it became clear that—in spite of suspicious circumstances and multiplying irregularities in STF accounts of the incidents—the NHRC would not take suo moto cognizance of the episode and the abuses it suggested.
In the aftermath of the extra-judicial killing of Veerappan, the Karnataka State Government has announced a Rs. 50 crore reward package for the state's Special Task Force personnel and officers involved in the operations to nab forest brigand Veerappan. Each of them would be given a cash reward of up to Rs five lakh, a free house plot, special medical allowance and one increment in salary, according to the Hon’ble Chief Minister Dharam Singh. The expenditure to the state exchequer on this account would be around Rs. 50 crore.
Since a magisterial enquiry has been initiated against the STF officers involved in the extra-judicial killing of Veerappan, it would be against the principles of administrative law to promote those very officers out of turn. The guidelines issued by the National Human Rights Commission to Chief Ministers, regarding such encounter deaths, under clause (g) states “No out of turn promotion or instant gallantry rewards shall be bestowed on the concerned officers soon after the occurrence. It must be ensured at all costs that such rewards are given/recommended only when the gallantry of the concerned officer is established beyond doubt.”
The Supreme Court has laid down in the case of Union of India Vs. K.V. Jankiraman (AIR 1991 SC 2010) that in case of an official facing disciplinary action of any kind, his promotion must be undertaken only after following the “sealed cover procedure”. This disciplinary action includes government servants against whom prosecution for a criminal charge is pending, which includes a magisterial enquiry into the incident. As per the “sealed cover” procedure, the recommendation for promotion has to be put in a sealed cover and has to be opened and reviewed by the Departmental Promotion Committee only after the proceedings or the prosecution is complete.
In this matter as well, the announcement of the promotions of all the officers of the STF following the killing of Veerappan, against which a magisterial enquiry is pending, is ultra vires the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the Jankiraman case, with respect to promotion of government servants, against whom an enquiry stands is pending. Moreover, it is also a direct violation of the NHRC guidelines on encounter killings, according to clause (g) of the guidelines.
As per the Karnataka Police Manual, under order 342(a), a reward may be granted to a police officer, only after a proper recommendation has been submitted to the sanctioning authority and must narrate the part played by each individual with reasons for regarding it as specially meritorious in character. Moreover, like promotions, rewards should also not be granted in cases where an inquiry is pending against the actions of the concerned officers.
The announcement of these rewards also goes against the rules laid down in the Karnataka Police Manual, which have statutory force as laid down by the High Court of Karnataka in the case of KM Muniswamy v. State of Karnataka (1992 (3) Kar. LJ 301B (DB)). The announcement of rewards by the State government for the officers of the STF also contravenes the guidelines laid down by the NHRC with respect encounter deaths, according to clause (g)
The Constitution of India, under Article 21 also states that no one shall be deprived of their right to life unless it is a procedure established by law. In the case of Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (AIR 1978 SC 597), the Supreme Court has held that such a procedure of law must be “just, fair and reasonable and must rule out anything arbitrary, freakish or bizarre”. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, according to Article 6, says that no one maybe deprived of their liberties arbitrarily.
The action of the STF, in the killing of Veerappan, points to an arbitrary exercise of power, and there are grave doubts raised about the veracity of the police statement regarding the killing, which state that the firing was in self defence. This raises the issue of an arbitrary use of state power to deprive a citizen of his right to life and should be properly investigated by the relevant authorities before the officers involved in it are rewarded.
We humbly request the State Government to defer the granting of rewards to the Police Officers of the Special Task Force involved in the killing of Veerappan, until a full enquiry has been undertaken by the National Human Rights Commission into the incident. Furthermore, some of the officers also have been accused of committing grave atrocities as noted by the Sadashiva Commission in its report to the NHRC, and full investigation must be carried out into the acts of these officers before any of them are rewarded. Further, the public should be informed as to the exact role of each of the STF personnel for which they merit the reward as announced by the State. Not only is this laid down in the Police Manual, but is also the right of the tax-payer to know how his or her money is being spent by the State government.
Sincerely yours
Mathews Phillip
Executive Director
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