Lakhan Bhaiya encounter case: HC strikes down Maharashtra order to suspend conviction of 11 cops
Shibu Thomas | TNN | Mar 7, 2019, 05:30 ISTHighlights
- A division bench of Justice Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Justice Revati Dere termed the state's order as "perverse".
- Lakhan Bhaiya and his friend were picked up by a police team from Vashi on November 11, 2006.
- Lakhan Bhaiya was killed in a fake encounter near the Nana Nani park in Versova the same day.
Representative imageMUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Wednesday set aside the Maharashtra government's decision to suspend the coviction of 11 police officers who had been given life imprisonment for the 2006 fake encounter of Chhota Rajan gang member Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakhan Bhaiya.
A division bench of Justice Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Justice Revati Dere termed the state's order as "perverse". The court was hearing a petition filed by the deceased's brother advocate Ramprasad Gupta challenging the decision of the state in 2015. The high court had in an interim order stayed the decision and sent the 11 cops back to jail.
Advocate Yug Chaudhary, counsel for the petitioner, questioned the legal validity of the government directive as the pre-mature release of a convict serving life imprisonment could be considered only after 14 years.
Lakhan Bhaiya and his friend were picked up by a police team from Vashi on November 11, 2006. Lakhan Bhaiya was killed in a fake encounter near the Nana Nani park in Versova the same day. A sessions court in 2013 had acquitted prime accused Pradeep Sharma, but convicted 21 others, including 13 police officers.
On December 2, 2015, the state suspended the conviction for a period of six months to allow the officers to pursue their appeals. The HC had subsequently in an interim order stayed the release of the convicts.
A division bench of Justice Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Justice Revati Dere termed the state's order as "perverse". The court was hearing a petition filed by the deceased's brother advocate Ramprasad Gupta challenging the decision of the state in 2015. The high court had in an interim order stayed the decision and sent the 11 cops back to jail.
Advocate Yug Chaudhary, counsel for the petitioner, questioned the legal validity of the government directive as the pre-mature release of a convict serving life imprisonment could be considered only after 14 years.
Lakhan Bhaiya and his friend were picked up by a police team from Vashi on November 11, 2006. Lakhan Bhaiya was killed in a fake encounter near the Nana Nani park in Versova the same day. A sessions court in 2013 had acquitted prime accused Pradeep Sharma, but convicted 21 others, including 13 police officers.
On December 2, 2015, the state suspended the conviction for a period of six months to allow the officers to pursue their appeals. The HC had subsequently in an interim order stayed the release of the convicts.
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