If the police can act as judge, jury, and executioner, what is the need for courts?
-BM Kamble

B.M. Kamble, National Vice President of the Social Democratic Party of India strongly condemns the ongoing Encounter Raj in Uttar Pradesh, exemplified by the recent spate of 10 police encounters across 8 cities in a single day on May 28, 2025, under the so-called “Operation Langda.” This alarming pattern of extrajudicial violence by the Uttar Pradesh Police, resulting in 207 deaths and over 6,000 injuries since 2017, represents a grave assault on the rule of law, constitutional protections, and the very foundation of justice in India.

The Uttar Pradesh government’s reliance on encounters, where suspects are routinely shot in the legs or killed, bypasses due process and undermines Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. Such actions, justified under the guise of self-defense, violate the Supreme Court’s 2014 guidelines which mandate independent investigations and FIR registration for encounter deaths. The UP Police’s clean chit in all 74 probes as of 2020 exposes a disturbing lack of accountability, rendering these guidelines meaningless.

If the police can act as judge, jury, and executioner, what is the need for courts? The judiciary, entrusted with upholding justice, is rendered irrelevant when suspects are summarily punished without trial. This “Encounter Raj” erodes public trust in the legal system and normalizes a culture of impunity, where the state’s law enforcement agencies operate above the law.