SC admits fake encounters petition

IMPHAL, October 1: The Supreme Court of India today admitted to a petition of the Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families Association Manipur, EEVFAM requesting a special investigation team to investigate the cases of extrajudicial executions in Manipur.

Speaking to a group of media persons at the national capital today, EEVFAM, secretary, Neena announced that a Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Desai has admitted to the petition requesting for a special investigation team to investigate the cases of extrajudicial executions in Manipur.

She continued that the Court has appointed Advocate Menaka Guruswamy as the amicus curiae and the matter will be decided on November 4, 2012.

Further speaking at the press conference, she said, “Today’s development here in New Delhi is a result of a long journey”.

She recounted on how she lost her husband to a fake encounter and how after a gap of more than three years since the fake encounter she could extract the truth behind her husband’s killings.

She said, “After almost three years of an uphill struggle the District Court finally wrote its findings on 12 July 2012 and concluded that: In the result, I have decided that the husband of the petitioner, Nongmaithem Michael Singh, was killed by the personnel of Manipur Police Commando, Imphal West on 04-11-2008 at around 4.45 p.m. at Yenkaobung, Kameng and not from the exchange of firing or encounter between the husband of the petitioner and personnel of Manipur Police Commandos, Imphal West”.

The report is forwarded to the registrar of the Gauhati High Court, Imphal Bench and we are awaiting the final decision of the High Court on my case.”

She continued that there are hundreds of young widows generated every year as their husbands are arbitrarily executed in Manipur. Many of them are in a lot worst situation than me.

EEVAM has given us the strength to be who we are and face the world in our own terms with dignity and grace. The mental and emotional support that we draw from this collective effort can hardly be over stated.

“Besides pursuing the cases of our husbands individually we are now collectively fighting for justice.”

“With the help of Human Rights Alert, we are petitioning the Supreme Court of India, we have placed 63 cases with detailed documentation from 2007 to 2012 and also a list of 1528 cases of extrajudicial executions compiled by the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights in Manipur and the UN demanding, setting up of a special investigation team to investigate the cases, conducting disciplinary proceedings in all the cases listed and to facilitate the giving of evidence by the family members and other eyewitnesses to punish the guilty, paying compensations to the families of the victim, declaring that the sanction under section 197 Cr.P.C and section 6 of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 or any other similar provision in any other law is not necessary to be obtained in cases of fake encounters.”