Assam Encounter Inquiry: Supreme Court Direction Covers 171 Alleged Cases Since 2021

The news

Days after a prime suspect in the killing of five people at a Guwahati hotel was shot dead in an encounter with Assam Police, the Supreme Court's May 2025 direction to probe alleged fake encounters in the state remains unimplemented. The Court had ordered the Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to inquire into 171 alleged fake police encounters between May 2021 and August 2022, in which 56 people were killed and 145 injured. Kokrajhar district accounted for 18 of the alleged encounters, the highest district figure in the petition filed by advocate Arif Jwadder.

The primary reason for the delay is that the AHRC's full bench is not functional, officials said. Two of the three designated positions are vacant: non-judicial member Santanu Bharali's tenure ended in April 2026, and chairperson Justice Arup Kumar Goswami's tenure ended in August 2026. A senior official of the AHRC said it was very difficult to make a decision with only one member. A senior government official said the process of filling the vacancies was on, but there was no clarity on when they would be filled.

The Supreme Court had directed the AHRC to issue a public notice in at least one national English daily and one prominent vernacular newspaper in Assam, inviting alleged victims and their families to furnish information or evidence. The notice was also to include contact details for accessing free legal aid. Jwadder told The Indian Express that even these public notices had not been published over the past year. A senior official of the Assam State Legal Services Authority said there were no records of anyone approaching for victim compensation.

What is the legal framework for human rights commissions in India?

The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, enacted by Parliament, provides for the constitution of a National Human Rights Commission and State Human Rights Commissions. A State Human Rights Commission consists of a chairperson who has been a Chief Justice or Judge of a High Court, and two members, one of whom is a serving or retired judge of a High Court or a serving or retired district judge with at least seven years' experience and another with knowledge of human rights. The Act came into force on 28 September 1993, and was amended in 2006 to change the composition and strengthen the commissions. The Assam Human Rights Commission was constituted under this central legislation to inquire into complaints of violation of human rights or abetment thereof, or negligence in the prevention of such violation, by a public servant.

What did the Supreme Court order in May 2025?

On a petition by advocate Arif Jwadder alleging 171 fake police encounters in Assam between May 2021 and August 2022, the Supreme Court directed the AHRC to conduct an inquiry. The Court refused to order omnibus judicial directions but said victims and their families should be given a fair and meaningful opportunity to participate. It ordered a public notice in at least one national English daily and one prominent vernacular newspaper in Assam, with contact details for free legal aid.

Why has the inquiry stalled?

The AHRC's designated three-member bench has only one serving member. Chairperson Justice Arup Kumar Goswami's tenure ended in August 2026, and non-judicial member Santanu Bharali's tenure ended in April 2026. An AHRC official said the vacancies made decisions difficult. A senior government official said the process of filling the vacancies was on but without a clear timeline. The court-directed public notices have not been published, and no one has approached the legal services authority for victim compensation, officials said.

How has the state government responded?

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has defended the police's actions. In response to questions about the spurt in firing incidents in 2021, he said that if someone snatches police arms and tries to flee, and is a rapist, police cannot shoot him in the chest but shooting at the leg is the law. Former state DGP and current CRPF Director General G P Singh posted a tweet after the latest encounter, saying the relevance of the third law remains undiminished in Assam, a reference to Newton's Third Law of Motion.