SC to hear plea seeking probe on extra-judicial killings in Manipur

The Supreme Court will on Tuesday hear a plea seeking probe in the alleged extra-judicial killings in Manipur from 2000 to 2012 by the security forces and the police.

In the previous hearing, the apex court asked the Centre and the Manipur Government to segregate and distinguish the cases related to the armed forces and the state police from the list of 265 incidents of extra-judicial killings.

A bench comprising Justices Madan B. Lokur and U.U. Lalit said it would first hear the matters which were filed in - commission of inquiry, judicial inquiry or high court matters, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) cases, and cases based on written complaints.

Senior advocate V. Giri, representing Manipur, pointed out discrepancies in the number of matters to that were to be dealt by the apex court as the data given by the petitioners were not tallying with the figures given by the Centre.

The Centre said that it found 70 matters, out of the 282 cases, were found to be related to the Army and Assam Rifles and the rest related the state police.

In July last year, the apex court had directed a thorough probe into the alleged killings in Manipur and expressed concern over the use of "excessive or retaliatory force" stating that it was not permissible under the Armed Force Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

The apex court also rejected the Centre's contention that an internal enquiry was conducted through the Army's Human Rights Division to ensure punishment for the violation of human rights.