Sohrabuddin Fake Encounter Case

The Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi received yet another jolt when the Supreme Court directed the Gujarat Government to pay compensation to the next of kin of Sohrabuddin, who was killed in a fake encounter. The Court further stated that payment of compensation could not be delayed any further, and asked why the State Government is using delaying tactics in paying compensation when it has already admitted that it was a fake encounter.

Satisfying Gujarat Government's Attitude
The comment by the apex court clearly indicates that it is not satisfied with the State Government's attitude. The decision about the amount of compensation has been left to the State Government. This was done at the request of the Gujarat Government counsel, but the court ordered that the apex court should be informed of the amount the State Government decides to give to Sohrabuddin's brother.

It is clear that the apex court does not desire to intervene in the State's administrative affairs, but going by the attitude and inclination of the Modi Government, the court desires to keep an eye on the case.

It is worth mentioning that the Gujarat Government had admitted in November 2005 that Sohrabuddin was killed in a fake encounter by the Gujarat Police. Several senior officers were arrested; yet the State Government paid no compensation to the next of kin of Sohrabuddin. Not only was Sohrabuddin killed, his wife Kauser Bi was also murdered, and her dead body was consigned to flames by the state police. Yet, the State Government paid no compensation in any of the cases.

Victims of Communal Riots
The truth is that the State Government continues to avoid payment to victims of communal riots that broke out in the state in wake of the Godhara incident, leading to genocide of Muslims. No one, in fact, knows what happened to the large amount of compensation that was provided by the Union Government for providing relief to riot victims. Muslims in Gujarat continue to complain that they are yet to get any compensation. In this connection, the apex court has admonished the State Government on several occasions. It may, perhaps, be because of this that the apex court also desires to keep an eye on it.

The Supreme Court has also given an indication that it is only happy with the investigation being conducted by Geeta Johri, a DGP of Gujarat cadre, into the involvement of state police officers in the fake encounter. A party to the prosecution, Rubab Sheikh had raised queries on the investigation not being impartial.

As a matter of fact, since the case is being investigated by a police officer of the Gujarat cadre, questions have continued to fly ever since the investigation commenced. It can be easily understood that under the circumstances, the investigation can be influenced. At the same time, the state government may deprive the next of kin of Sohrabuddin of compensation and also attempt to save its police officers.

Hard Attitude Needed
The decision to hand over the investigation to the Special Investigation Team is a welcome one, which may also give a ray of hope of getting justice to other Gujarat riots victims. Cases of fake encounters have alarmingly risen in our country in recent times.

In this regard, it has become necessary for the Government to adopt a hard attitude against such criminal activities of the police. But going by the attitude of the State Government to support its police officers, judiciary needs to adopt a hard stance in such cases. The direction given to the Gujarat Government in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case is evidence of the hard stance adopted by judiciary in such cases.