S. Muralidhar, J.

Killings in police encounters affect the credibility of the rule of law and the administration of the criminal justice system."

[PUCL v. State of Maharashtra (2014) 10 SCC 635]

Introduction

1.1 Eighteen policemen of the Uttarakhand police were sent up for trial consequent upon the killing of 20 year old Ranbir Singh in Dehradun on 3rd July 2009 in an encounter. The case of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to which the case was entrusted, was that the encounter was fake and that the eighteen policemen conspired to murder him.

1.2 The learned Additional Sessions Judge, CBI-03 ('the trial Court') by a judgment dated 6th June 2014 in Sessions Case No.1/2011 (arising from RC No.6(S)/2009 CBI/SCB/Lucknow) convicted the accused policemen thus:

(i) Accused No.1 (A1) to A16 and A18 were convicted for the offences under Sections 120B of the Indian Penal Code (‘IPC’) read with Sections 364 and 302 IPC.

(ii) A1 to A7 were convicted for the offences punishable under Sections 302 read with Section 120B IPC and Section 364 read with Section 120B IPC.

(iii) A17 and A18 were convicted for the offence under Section 218 IPC.

1.3 By the same judgment, A1 to A14 were acquit