The place where the encounter of Bharat Bhushan Tiwari occurred is around 1 km away from his house.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (June 30, 2026) refused to entertain a plea seeking constitution of an independent expert committee to inquire into the alleged “extra-judicial killing” of activist Bharat Bhushan Tiwari in a police encounter in Bihar.
A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Sheel Nagu asked the petitioner to approach the Patna High Court.
Also Read: Cause of a death
“Who are you? the bench asked the petitioner as the matter came for hearing.
Advocate Vishal Tiwari, who filed the plea, said the PIL has been filed in public interest.
The bench then said, “No sorry. Not entertained. Liberty to approach the high court.”
The plea had also sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), claiming the case warrants a prompt, independent and impartial investigation.
The killing of Tiwari, a resident of Bilauti village in Bihar’s Bhojpur district, on June 17, has triggered a row with his family claiming that he had surrendered and discarded his weapon before being fatally shot by the police. The Bihar government had on Saturday (June 27, 2026) announced a judicial inquiry into the incident.
In his plea, Mr. Vishal Tiwari has said that in a democratic society, the police cannot be allowed to become a punishing authority as this power is only vested in the judiciary.
Referring to the Bihar incident, the petition said it has triggered a debate over police procedures and the use of force during encounters.
“The incidents of extra-judicial killings have increased in the past few years, which is a big challenge to the rule of law,” the plea said, claiming that recently, police encounters have increased sharply across Bihar.
It claimed that the killing of Tiwari appeared to be “suspicious”.
It referred to a 2014 apex court verdict which had issued a slew of guidelines to be followed in matters of investigating police encounters which have led to death or grievous injury.
The plea said, “Fake encounters or deaths/murder of accused in police custody/jail weakens the rule of law, and if these killings will be justified by saying that the killed accused was a gangster or having antecedents of criminal cases, then it would be leading the society towards the law of ‘eye for an eye’”.
The plea has also sought a direction to the Centre to issue an advisory to all the chief secretaries of states to comply with the directions and guidelines laid down by the top court in its 2014 verdict.
An injured Tiwari died while being taken to the Patna Medical College and Hospital for treatment.
While the initial police statement on Tuesday (June 30, 2026) described Tiwari as reportedly being “mentally unsound”, others, including the family members, described him as an activist who consistently raised local issues before the administration.
The police statement mentioned that Tiwari persistently fired at police, prompting retaliatory firing in “self-defence” during which he sustained a bullet injury to his leg.
Published – June 30, 2026 01:07 pm IST