Punjab-Haryana High Court order "encouraging" UP govt to continue with fake encounters

The Uttar Pradesh civil rights organization Rihai Manch has sharply criticized the Punjab and Haryana High Court for saying that the two State governments should form a law to “finish off” criminals on the pattern of UP within six months, alleging it is speaking the language of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
In a statement, the Rihai Manch said, a delegation of the civil rights body met the family members of Shahzad after they raised questions over the manner in which he was killed in a police encounter in Saharanpur. The delegation consisted of Ravish Alam, Ashu Chaudhary, Engineer Usman, Ash Muhammad, Amir Ahmed, Arsh Tyagi and Sajid.
Following the meeting, the Rihai Manch issued a statement, where it criticized the Yogi government for the law which gives powers to the police powers to finish off gangsters and anti-social elements, insisting the High Court order has come at a time when backwards, Dalits and minorities are being targeted in UP.
In many cases, the National Human Rights Commission is investigating and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties has petitioned in the Supreme Court against such killings, the statement said, regretting, the verdict of the Punjab and Haryana High Court would only encourage the “criminal police mentality.”
Rihai Manch’s Mohd Shoeb said, the order comes at a time when there is serious infringement of human rights in UP, insisting, the court verdict has worked as a major boost to the Yogi government which is surrounded by allegations of a fake encounters.
Encouraged by the High Court order, the Uttar Pradesh police was quick to make public data saying that during 3,599 encounters over the two-and-a-half years of the Yogi government, 73 were killed and 1,059 injured, while 8,251 alleged criminals were arrested.
Yet, it said, crimes in the state are continuously going up. This means that the government campaign against the criminals has failed. The intention is to take political vendetta against Dalits, backwards and minorities.

Comments

Advocacy group decries 'hyper-centralization' as States’ share of health funds plummets

By A Representative In a major pre-budget mobilization, the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), India’s leading public health advocacy network, has issued a sharp critique of the Union government’s health spending and demanded a doubling of the health budget for the upcoming 2026-27 fiscal year.

Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar’s views on religion as Tagore’s saw them

By Harasankar Adhikari Religion has become a visible subject in India’s public discourse, particularly where it intersects with political debate. Recent events, including a mass Gita chanting programme in Kolkata and other incidents involving public expressions of faith, have drawn attention to how religion features in everyday life. These developments have raised questions about the relationship between modern technological progress and traditional religious practice.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Delhi Jal Board under fire as CAG finds 55% groundwater unfit for consumption

By A Representative A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India audit report tabled in the Delhi Legislative Assembly on 7 January 2026 has revealed alarming lapses in the quality and safety of drinking water supplied by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), raising serious public health concerns for residents of the capital.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Pairing not with law but with perpetrators: Pavlovian response to lynchings in India

By Vikash Narain Rai* Lynch-law owes its name to James Lynch, the legendary Warden of Galway, Ireland, who tried, condemned and executed his own son in 1493 for defrauding and killing strangers. But, today, what kind of a person will justify the lynching for any reason whatsoever? Will perhaps resemble the proverbial ‘wrong man to meet at wrong road at night!’

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Zhou Enlai: The enigmatic premier who stabilized chaos—at what cost?

By Harsh Thakor* Zhou Enlai (1898–1976) served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 1949 until his death and as Foreign Minister from 1949 to 1958. He played a central role in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for over five decades, contributing to its organization, military efforts, diplomacy, and governance. His tenure spanned key events including the Long March, World War II alliances, the founding of the PRC, the Korean War, and the Cultural Revolution.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Search This Blog