The court sought NHRC’s response by March 18.

The division bench led by Chief Justice A P Shah was referring to a revised set of guidelines issued by former Chief Justice of India and NHRC chairperson A S Anand on December 2, 2003, making an independent inquiry into police encounter deaths mandatory.

Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Khanna had last month refused sanction for a magisterial probe into the September 19, 2008 encounter deaths of Delhi serial blasts suspects Atif Amin and Mohammed Sajid in Batla House, at Jamia Nagar area of South Delhi.

“If police refer the matter to the L-G, and he takes a decision... do you (NHRC) allow your guidelines to be given a go-by?” the court asked.

On the defensive, the commission submitted that it had kept its inquiry “on hold” as the case was sub judice in the High Court. To this the Bench replied, “The NHRC has already got a machinery to deal with such complaints... we (court) were under the impression that you have already started an inquiry.”

The Supreme Court had earlier refused to entertain a request for a probe into the encounter. “There are many issues concerned here,” the court said. “We want you to clarify whether your guidelines can be set aside by an executive order.”

In 2003, Justice Anand had written to the chief minister: “Death during the course of police action is always a cause of concern to a civil society... the police do not have a right to take away the life of a person. If, by his act, the policeman kills a person, he commits an offence of culpable homicide or not amounting to murder, unless it is established that such killing was not an offence under the law.”

NHRC guidelines
* Entry in “appropriate register” by police officer in charge
* When officers of same police station form the encounter team, probe on the deaths should be given to an independent agency, like the state Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID)
* In case police action makes out to be cognizable case of culpable homicide — to be investigated by CB-CID
* Magisterial inquiry must be held in all cases of death in course of police action. The next of kin of deceased must be associated in such inquiry
* Prompt prosecution and disciplinary action against delinquent officers found guilty in magisterial enquiry/police probe
* Question of granting compensation to dependents of the deceased would depend on facts and circumstances of each case
* No out-of-turn promotion or instant gallantry rewards to be bestowed on officers concerned soon after an encounter
* A six-monthly statement of all cases of deaths in police action in a state shall be sent by state DGP to NHRC