NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court has allowed resumption of trial of Punjab cops facing charges of killing people allegedly in fake encounters during militancy days in the 1990s.
A Bench of Justices V Gopala Gowda and Arun Mishra, however, asked the trial courts to decide in the course of proceedings, even at the closing stage, if these encounters were genuine or fake.
The accused policemen, including Devinder Singh and others, had challenged their prosecution, contending that the CBI was proceeding against them without getting the necessary permission.
The trial court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court had rejected their pleas.
In a 43-page judgment delivered on April 25, the apex court vacated the stay on the trial it had granted earlier.
Citing earlier SC judgments, it said the question of sanction could be raised at the time of framing of charges or at any stage of proceedings.
The Bench clarified that sanction was necessary in all cases where the encounter was found to be genuine, while there was no need for sanction in fake encounter cases.
