'Smoking guns' in Indian Army must come under judicial scrutiny: SC

The Centre decided to move a curative petition against the 2016 verdict. While rejecting the same, the court held that no case was made.

The Supreme Court rejected a plea by the Centre to recall a 2016 judgment on conducting a probe into 1,528 cases of alleged fake encounters in Manipur in the past two decades. A bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, J S Khehar dismissed a curative plea in which it was stated that the SC verdict had hampered the Indian Army's ability to respond to insurgent and terrorist threats.

In 2016, the SC had decided to probe 1,528 cases of alleged fake encounters by security forces in Manipur. It had stated that democracy would be in grave danger if a probe was not conducted. The bench had also said that the armed forces cannot be permitted to kill citizens on a mere allegation or suspicion that they were enemies of the state. The court had also said that 'smoking guns,' must come under judicial scrutiny.

The Centre decided to move a curative petition against the 2016 verdict. While rejecting the same, the court held that no case was made out within the parameters indicated in the decision of this court. The centre had argued that the verdict was affecting anti-terror operations by the army. The morale of the forces is down due to this, the Centre had also contended.

OneIndia News