The Federation of Associations of Maharashtra is an apex body of 750 associations and has an estimated 3 lakh members comprising shopkeepers, traders and owners of small-scale industries. The Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association has an estimated membership of 5000 hotel and bar owners.

The associations in their petitions have highlighted that their members were directly affected by the state of law and order in Mumbai and itssurrounding areas and that it was necessary at this juncture to give maximum encouragement to the police force. The applicants further stated that it was important that they be allowed to intervene and participate in the hearing of the writ petitions filed by Samajwadi Party, Centre for Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR) and People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) against encounter killings.

Soon after admitting the three petitions, the High Court had ordered an inquiry by the Sessions Court into the encounter killings, which the petitioners had termed as fake. After examination and cross-examination of both the prosecution and the police witnesses, Principal Sessions Judge A S Aguiar had held the police guilty of staging encounters to eliminate gangsters.

The writs filed today by FAM and IHRS say Judge Aguiar's report has put the policemen into the dock like common criminals, while exalting notorious criminals like Sada Pawle and Vijay Tandel to the status of innocent citizens. The associations saythey were dismayed to find that while the human rights organisations speak up for the `rights' of gangsters, there was nobody before the Court to speak up for the honest, law-abiding citizens who were victims of the gangland killings and threats from extortionists. The petitions say that almost every day an innocent shopkeeper, restaurant owner, video cable operator or a trader is murdered on the streets of Mumbai and it was under these circumstances that associations wanted to be heard.

The applicants pointed out that in 1994 there were 354 murders, of which 25 were committed by using firearms. The corresponding figure for 1995 were 357 and 17. In 1996 there were 327 murders in which 30 were committed with firearms and in 1997 the figure was 288 and the records indicated 35 killings were committed with firearms. In the first ten months of 1998 the figure stands at 303, of which as many as 80 murders have been committed by using firearms.