The Supreme Court today allowed the Army to hold a Court of Inquiry in each of the encounter deaths in Manipur, while leaving open the question as to which agency should conduct a thorough probe into the alleged extra-judicial killings.
A bench comprising Justices M B Lokur and U U Lalit said for the time being, it was leaving it open for decision on who should conduct the inquiry and appropriate directions in this regard will be given after the details of encounter deaths are received.
"For the time being, we leave it open for decision on who should conduct the inquiry and appropriate directions in this regard will be given...," the bench said.
It further said it is also leaving it open the question whether Court Martial proceedings can be initiated by the Army against an offender, if any, till the information on cases was received, as full facts regarding alleged extra-judicial killings were not with it.
"We are not deciding it for the time being only because full facts are not available to us. However, if the law permits and the Army is so inclined, it may hold a Court of Inquiry in each case," the bench said.
The apex court said it has not received accurate and complete information on each of the 1528 cases that has been alleged as fake encounters by the petitioners and there is need to collate the information to give any final direction.
It said that Amicus Curiae Maneka Guruswamy appointed in the case to assist the court had informed that there are 15 cases out of 62 in which it has been held by Justice Hegde Commission or by judicial inquiries conducted at the instance of the Gauhati High Court that the encounters were faked.
It further said NHRC has informed that there are 31 cases out of 62 in which it has been concluded that the encounters were not genuine and compensation awarded to the next of kin of the victims or the award of compensation is pending.
It, however, said the grievance of NHRC that it has become a toothless tiger, will be decided after hearing the Centre and human rights panel and would also consider the nature of the guidelines issued by NHRC - whether they are binding or only advisory.
