Investigation in Vikas Dubey encounter case starts in a week and ends in two months: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday approved the Uttar Pradesh government's draft appointing former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) BS Chauhan as chairman of the 3-member commission of inquiry. This commission of inquiry will investigate the murder of eight policemen and the encounter death of gangster Vikas Dubey and five of his associates.

A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde directed that the Commission of Inquiry should start functioning within a week and conclude the inquiry within two months. The other two members of the commission of inquiry - former High Court judge Justice (retd) Shashikant Agarwal and retired Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police KL Gupta.

Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian of the bench also approved the draft notification and asked the Uttar Pradesh government to notify it. The apex court has directed the Center to provide secretary-level assistance to the inquiry committee and said that the assistance should be provided by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or any other central agency.

The bench said that the commission of inquiry will submit its report to the Supreme Court as well as the state government. The apex court said that the scope of the investigation to be done by the Commission of Inquiry should be sufficient. The bench said that the apex court was not in favor of the commission to 'tie hands'. It added that the commission would have to investigate the incidents of the killing of eight policemen and subsequent encounters of Dubey and his alleged accomplices.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for Uttar Pradesh informed the bench that Justice (retd) Chauhan has given his consent to be part of the commission of inquiry. Mehta told the bench that the commission would also investigate the circumstances under which investigation was going on against Dubey in 65 cases and he was released on bail.

The apex court was hearing the petitions, which have sought a court-monitored investigation into the encounters of Dubey and his five alleged accomplices. Some of the petitions have also demanded an inquiry into the killing of eight policemen, including DSP Devendra Mishra, who went to Biku village in Chaubepur area of ​​Kanpur on July 3 to nab Vikas Dubey and was martyred.

Police had said that Dubey was killed in an encounter on the morning of July 10, when he was being brought from Ujjain to Kanpur. The car had crashed and when he tried to escape, the police shot him dead.