Prayagraj: Allahabad high court took UP Police to task on Friday for what it said were “frequent” instances of cops shooting crime suspects below the knee in the name of encounters and basking in the glow of “social media fame or out-of-turn promotions”. “Such an act is not permissible in the eyes of law, as the power of punishment to the accused is the domain of judiciary and not police. India is a democratic country. It has to be run per the ethos and directions of the Constitution, which clearly distinguishes the role of legislature, executive and judiciary,” the single-judge bench of Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal said, laying down a set of guidelines that will be applicable to all police-criminal encounters. “Police officers cannot be allowed to take the function of judiciary to punish a criminal by unnecessary firing and causing injuries even on non-vital parts of the body,” the judge told DGP Rajeev Krishna and additional secretary (home) Sanjay Prasad at an online hearing. The guidelines stem from a case in which a crime suspect, Raju alias Rajkumar, was shot in the leg. Granting him bail on January 28, Justice Deshwal cited police’s violation of the Supreme Court’s 2014 PUCL vs Maharashtra ruling. HC on UP police shootings: Specific guidelines neededAt Friday’s hearing, the police chief and his bureaucrat colleague cited two circulars dated Aug 1, 2017, and Oct 11, 2024, as proof of the state govt’s commitment to comply with the SC ruling on police-criminal encounters that result in death or grievous injuries. The HC said that given the frequency of police shootings in UP, specific guidelines are required, failure to adhere to which will be treated as contempt of court.The guidelines stem from a case in which a crime suspect, Raju alias Rajkumar, was shot in the leg. Granting him bail on January 28, Justice Deshwal cited police’s violation of the Supreme Court’s 2014 PUCL vs Maharashtra ruling.At Friday’s hearing, the police chief and his bureaucrat colleague cited two circulars dated Aug 1, 2017, and Oct 11, 2024, as proof of the state govt’s commitment to comply with the SC ruling on police-criminal encounters that result in death or grievous injuries.The high court said that given the frequency of police shootings in UP, specific guidelines are required, failure to adhere to which will be treated as contempt of court.“If, in pursuance of any information, a police party reaches the spot and an encounter takes place wherein a firearm is used and the accused or any other person receives a grievous injury, then an FIR to that effect shall be registered by the head of the police party in the same or adjoining police station,” the order states. “The investigation of said FIR shall be conducted by CB-CID or a police team from any other police station under the supervision of a senior police officer at least one level above the head of the police party engaged in the encounter.” The FIR needn’t mention every member of the police squad involved in the encounter but should specify if it was a special taskforce or a team from a police station.Another mandatory requirement is to provide the injured suspect immediate medical assistance. “His/her injury should be examined and, thereafter, the person’s statement should be recorded either by a magistrate or a medical officer authorised to issue a certificate of fitness. After a complete investigation into the police encounter, a report should be sent to the competent court, which will follow the procedure mentioned in the judgement of the apex court.”Justice Deshwal also took the police brass to task for allegedly incentivising encounters without checks in place.