New Delhi: The Supreme Court has declined the Centre’s curative petition seeking protection to the Army in dealing with militants and insurgency situations in Manipur from the purview of registration of FIR for alleged fake encounters.
A five-judge bench of Chief Justices J.S. Khehar and Justices Dipak Misra, J. Chelameswar, Madan Lokur and Uday Lalit dismissed the petition which wanted to recall the July 2016 order which said that Army or Manipur police cannot use excessive force under the provisions of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) to deal with militants or insurgency.
The petition which was heard in the CJI’s chamber was dismissed as ‘no merits’ and plea for oral hearing in open court was turned down. On July 8, 2016 the top court had given this ruling on a PIL filed by an association alleging 1,528 fake encounter deaths in Manipur in the last decade and demanded a probe.
The Court had said if members of our armed forces are deployed to kill citizens on the mere suspicion that they are ‘enemy’ not only the rule of law but our democracy would be in danger.
